Sweet and troublesome
by Ciiah
Summary: Ryoma realizes with a shock how he feels about Fuji, and now he doesn't know how to deal with it. Ignore it, or embrace it? The feeling of actually being attracted to someone... How sweet and troublesome. Yaoi, M-rated. FujiRyoma
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Prince of Tennis (Tennis no ohjisama) or any of it's characters.

I own the plot of this fic and any character that may come to appear that's not in the manga/anime.

Warnings: Yaoi. (Japanese concept for sexual actions between men.)

Chapter 1

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ryoma groaned as he missed his fourth ball that day. Giving his racket a fierce glare, even though he knew it wasn't the racket's fault, Ryoma got off the court and went for his water bottle. The water was lukewarm, but he didn't care. He needed to calm down. It had been like this all week. He would like to think it was because of the incredible heat, it was the beginning of summer after all, but he knew that it wasn't the issue. The real issue was what happened a few days ago; The realization that Ryoma had never asked for. If he had known about it, he'd have preferred to remain oblivious.

But for heaven's sakes! Ryoma was thirteen years old. For him to finally go through puberty was only to be expected. With puberty came lots of different things, both good and bad. Good things were voice changes, something that Ryoma anticipated to happen soon, and random body maturity. Ryoma couldn't wait to grow taller. He was tired of always being the short one.

But puberty also brought bad things. Things that Ryoma hated. Things that even scared Ryoma. And annoyed him. And angered him. It brought a lot of feelings, and Ryoma couldn't help but to hate the feeling of growing up.

Ryoma had never really felt any kind of attraction towards another person before, let alone sexual attraction. And now it had finally happened. And Ryoma was outrageous. It wasn't like it was supposed to be. Something had gone wrong. He wasn't feeling attraction towards the right kind of people. Ryoma had always known that one day he would come to find another person attractive, but he had kind of suspected that person to be kind of like that girl, Ryuzaki-san. Ryoma sighed, he couldn't even remember her name. Something with an 's'... Sakura? No, that wasn't it...

"Ryoma? What's the matter with you?" Ryoma snapped his lazy eyes open at the sound of Fuji's voice. "You've been off all week. Is something wrong? You're not sick are you? The match against the Senzu Academy is next week!" Slightly frowning, Fuji put his cool hand on Ryoma's forehead. Ryoma flinched and turned his face away, forcing the warmth that had gathered in his cheeks to go away.

This was so unlike him! To get flushed that easily... So damn uncool! Ryoma hated it. He really hated it.

"I-I'm fine!" Ryoma exclaimed and turned his back to his senpai. He couldn't even bear to look at the brown-haired boy now. Not after what happened last week. Not that Fuji knew about it, but still. Ryoma was embarrassed enough to die. "I... I have to go!" Ryoma said shakily and grabbed his bag before taking off.

He could hear Fuji call after him, "My sister could give you a ride, she'll be here any minute to pick me up!"

"I'll walk!" Ryoma gave a wave but didn't turn around.

When he had finally made distance between himself and Seigaku, he slowed down and finally stopped to stare angrily at the ground. His whole body was thumping, and he could still feel the brief touch of Fuji's hand on his face. Ryoma blushed and cursed himself. Why did this have to happen? Sure, he knew that one guy could fall in love with another guy, but he never expected himself to do so! Still blushing like mad, Ryoma started walking. He thought about what had happened last week.

He had been watching Momo play some tennis with Fuji, just like any other normal day. The sun had been shining, and Fuji had been sweating... so he took his shirt off. It wasn't like Fuji to show skin, but the past few weeks had really been insanely hot. Ryoma remembered how the sweat on Fuji's skin had gleamed in the light.

That's when the damn feeling had started. A strange, tingling feeling in the pit of his stomach that made him hot and cool at the same time. And he couldn't have taken his eyes off of his sweaty senpai, even if he wanted to. There was something about that tanned body that entranced Ryoma.

That's when he realized, that he was, in fact, _attracted_ to his senpai. Attracted to another guy.

"Tadaima..." Ryoma muttered and went into the kitchen to grab a glass of ponta. His idiot father was sitting on the porch as usual, reading a poorly hidden porn magazine. He gave a sound of acknowledgement to let Ryoma know that he had heard him. Ryoma sighed and decided to go to his room. His father wouldn't be able to help him. Ryoma had never been able to talk to his father about his feelings anyway, and even if he could, Ryoma didn't know what his father thought of boys who liked boys.

And what about Ryoma? What did he think? Maybe he wasn't even attracted to Fuji, maybe the feeling was something else... Something Ryoma didn't understand. Something Ryoma couldn't get rid of.

Walking into his rather dark room, Ryoma let sigh of relief escape. He could be alone to think here. He threw himself onto his bed and groaned. He needed to find a solution to this dilemma.

Okay, there were obviously feelings of attraction involved. If there weren't, Ryoma hadn't been enjoying the sight of a half-naked Fuji as much as he had. Could he do something to stop himself from liking his senpai? Maybe the feelings he was experiencing were merely lust? Confused or frustrated hormones? Curiosity even. Maybe... if Ryoma, just once, allowed himself to do something like _that_... the feelings would go away!

In fact, Ryoma soon discovered he hadn't really much of a choice; a stirring inside his boxers had already been activated. And just by thinking of his senpai?! Ryoma frowned. This was getting out of hand. He had to do something. Sitting up on the bed, he spread his legs and stared at the growing tent. He swallowed and decided to experiment a little. He imagined Fuji-senpai in the shower, water dripping down his naked body-

Ryoma moaned at the thought and slapped a hand over his mouth. What the hell?! He was actually getting turned on? Flustered and extremely embarrassed, he threw a glance towards his groin and blushed even more. The tent had grown quite a lot. It was even twitching a little through the soft fabric of his shorts. Ryoma swallowed nervously and timidly put a hand on the tent and gave a small squeeze. He could barely contain the moan that threatened to spill over his lips and the pleasure that small squeeze gave him was indescribable. Ryoma had never really touched himself before, so any small act of sexual pleasure felt incredibly good to him.

Ryoma glanced towards his door to make sure it was closed and locked. It was. Biting his lip in nervousness, Ryoma slowly undid his shorts and pulled the fabric down over his lean hips. He took a shaky breath when he saw his own erection. It had never been that big before. And even though he knew exactly what sex was, it was an almost shocking experience to finally have an erection of his own. His penis was straining and slightly quivering. Ryoma prodded the shaft with a finger and found that the touch felt good, so he took a firm grasp of his penis and gave a careful stroke.

His back arched with pleasure and a lustful moan emitted from his lips, and he didn't even care. It was so good! Settling against his pillows, Ryoma spread his legs wider and locked his dazed gaze on his reddening member. It was getting harder in his hand. He gave another stroke and bit his lip. He blushed. It felt good. Very good. He was starting to breathe heavier. His hips were starting to make thrusting movements. Images of Fuji-senpai started to slip into his mind and the pleasure increased.

Fuji kissing him, Fuji's hands on his body, Fuji rubbing against him... The images wouldn't stop coming to him! Ryoma's toes curled as the erotic feelings coursed through his inexperienced body, and he gave another low moan.

"Fuji-senpai..." he whispered dazedly, barely aware of what he was saying. He imagined Fuji touching him like this, kissing his neck... Ryoma's strokes got more frequent. He watched, with a strange kind of fascination, as pre-cum started to dribble down his young shaft. His pale fingers gripped his penis more firmly and he let his thumb slide across the small slit. Finally, he gave a loud gasp, scrunched his eyes shut and shook as a thick rope of white cum spurted from his jerking penis. His toes curled into his sheets as the climax made his body tremble and he threw his head back to savor the fantastic sensation of an orgasm.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and stared at the small puddle of cum on his blanket through heavily lidded eyes and his rosy cheeks got even rosier. The realization hurt as it came to him with a pang - he had gotten an orgasm from thinking about his fellow tennis partner.

He brought his spread knees together and hid his blushing face in his damp hands.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god..." he repeated to himself, feeling ashamed a disgusted by himself. Curling into a ball on the bed, Ryoma gave a dry sob. The feeling wouldn't go away. If anything, it would increase instead of cease. The yearning, the wanting he had felt while touching himself wasn't just lust. Ryoma wanted Fuji-senpai. And there was nothing he could do about it.

tbc

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Okay, that was the, rather short, first chapter. There's more to come, so stay alert, ne? The following chapters will probably be longer than this one. In fact, think of this as kind of a prologue.  
Hope you enjoyed this first chapter.

Please review. Happy authors work faster.


	2. Chapter 2

I still don't own Prince of Tennis.

I own the plot of this fic, and any character that may appear that's not from the manga/anime also belongs to me. Stealing/copying anything of this to publish and/or claim as your own work is against the law. Do you understand? (dark glare) Good.

Warnings: Yaoi (japanese concept for sex between males), slight ooc-ness, semi-angst, etc., etc...

Chapter two

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was morning, and Ryoma had come to a decision. He had spent the entire night thinking, panicking, ranting, planning, denying... He had changed sheets and put them in the washing machine before his mother could discover the stains from his little session earlier. Fact was, Ryoma was embarrassed enough to die. He had jerked off while thinking of Fuji-senpai. That was enough to make anyone panic, wasn't it?

But now, he had finally come to a decision. A good, simple decision - denial.

Ryoma would simply deny what happened the previous night and pretend it never happened. If he met Fuji-senpai in school, he would either walk away, or try to focus on all the bad things about him. That would definitely kill the emotions, right?

These _emotions_ that Ryoma had, he hated them fiercely. They confused him, made him feel sick, cold, hot... Most of all, they scared him. He had no idea how to handle the situation. The fact that he was attracted to another male was simply insane! It was wrong and unnatural! If only Ryoma had fallen in love with a girl instead! That would make it so much easier. It would still be a bit embarrassing, but at least it wouldn't be strange and scary.

"Good morning." Ryoma muttered as he entered the kitchen where his mother had prepared an American breakfast, much to Ryoma's discontent. His mother greeted him back, while his father merely gave a grunt from behind his newspaper.

Ryoma yawned and grabbed a glass of orange juice before he started to chew on his bacon and eggs. American food in itself didn't taste bad, but Ryoma was sick and tired of always having bacon and eggs for breakfast. And this morning, after having spent almost the entire night pondering and thinking and having very few hours of proper sleep, Ryoma was more bitter than usual at having to eat bacon for breakfast.

"Is something the matter, honey?" The woman asked, and before Ryoma knew what he was doing, he had already snapped back at her.

"Can't you make anything other than American food, mom? I know you're American, but I happen to be half Japanese, and I don't want to eat this shit every damn morning!" He threw the fork on the floor and left the room, leaving a tense aura behind.

The room was silent for a few seconds. Ryoma's mother stared after him, shock evident in her eyes. Nanjirou lowered his newspaper and stared after his son with a stunned look. Sure enough, the moody boy wasn't exactly famous for being Mr. Sunshine, but to snap like that was definitely not like him.

"What the heck was that all about? He's not allowed to speak to his mother like that!"

She shook her head and smiled to the annoyed man.

"He's starting to grow up, is all. I'm sure he has a lot on his mind."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Yes, Ryoma felt ashamed for yelling at his mother like that. It wasn't her fault that he had stayed up the whole night. It wasn't her fault that he...

Ryoma stopped in his tracks and stared at the asphalt. Now he felt even angrier with himself. Hadn't he convinced himself to deny it? In any case, Ryoma wasn't even sure what it was he was feeling. It could be hormones. It could be that he was sick. Maybe he had a fever? At that thought, Ryoma brought one hand to his forehead and grunted with annoyance when it didn't feel any warmer than usual. If anything, it felt cold and clammy. His cheeks on the other hand, felt warmer than the rest of the face.

Another thought occurred to Ryoma and he started to walk again, pondering away. Maybe he was feeling attracted to Fuji because he looked so much like a woman sometimes? That could be it! A semi-relieved feeling lightened in his chest. Maybe he was straight after all! But then a small voice popped up in the back of his head.

_Then why did you enjoy staring at his chest? It's not like that part of his body looks like a woman. You remember every detail, don't you? Those muscles, those nipples-_

"Shut up!" Ryoma slapped a hand against his forehead and blushed fiercely before starting to walk again, after stopping momentarily. A strange sadness replaced the frustration. There was nothing he could blame this on, was there? It wasn't that Fuji looked somewhat girlish, because that wasn't what attracted Ryoma. Ryoma didn't have a fever, and even if he did - he had been feeling like this for more than a week. A fever didn't usually last that long. And he couldn't blame it on the hormones, because they were just a natural part of his body that reacted to something he thought of as attractive. Hormones simply reacted to his likings, just like it was for everyone else.

"Yo, Ryoma!" Momo yelled and made Ryoma snap out of his dark state of mind. He stopped his bike in front of Ryoma with an annoyed pout. "Why didn't you wait for me? I thought I was supposed to pick you up? You know, like we have done every morning for the last four months." He gave Ryoma an accusing look. "I stood outside your house for like five minutes until your mom came out and told me that you had already taken off. What's wrong?"

Ryoma pulled his cap over his eyes. He didn't have the energy to give a proper apology, and even though Momo was his best friend, he definitely could _not_ tell the older boy about his issues. Not at the moment. Not about something like _that_!

"Sorry..." He murmured and heard Momo sigh with annoyance.

"Man, your attitude really pisses me off sometimes!" Momo gestured for Ryoma to take a seat behind him. "You wanna ride or not?"

Without a word, Ryoma got up and grasped the back of Momo's shirt so that he wouldn't fall off.

"Brat..." Momo grumbled and took off. Ryoma couldn't help but to smile behind Momo as they went down the hills. The senpai acted the same way he always did. For some reason, that was a relief. That way, Ryoma could easier fool himself into believing that everything was the way it normally was. That he didn't feel anything at all for Fuji-senpai, or anyone else for that matter. That he was just as young and emotionless as usual.

It was so much easier to be young and oblivious, Ryoma thought and grit his teeth. He really hated puberty.

When they finally reached the school, Ryoma jumped off and ran off to his first class.

"Ryoma?" Momo yelled after him. Ryoma didn't stop, but waved to Momo and continued running. He didn't want to risk bumping into a certain brunette, and the sooner he reached his classroom, the better.

He slowed down when he opened the door to the school building and started to walk through the corridors. His heart was racing painfully from the running and he stopped for a second to catch his breath. There was no chance of running into Fuji now, was there? These corridors were mainly used by the freshmen, and Fuji was a senior. Somewhere in the same building, said boy was probably hurrying to his own class.

Ryoma leaned against the wall and pulled his cap down. His breathing was almost back to normal again. But the mere thought of his senpai made his blush, and he didn't want to enter his classroom looking like a flustered girl. Ryoma frowned at the thought. He was indeed... behaving like a lovesick girl. How pathetic. Thankfully, the corridor was empty, so no one could see Ryoma as he pulled the cap off and fisted his hair in frustration. He pushed off of the wall and gave it an angry kick before starting to walk again. Two seconds later, he almost had a heart attack.

"Fuji-senpai! Good morning!" That Ryuuzaki girl greeted the older boy a few meters ahead, and before either of them could spot him, Ryoma quickly hid behind the lockers that were placed in the corridor.

"Good morning, Sakuno-san." Fuji answered with his usual, calm voice that somehow was both cold and friendly. Ryoma swallowed and put a hand in front his mouth to muffle his hard breathing. What the hell was the senpai doing there? It was the freshmen's corridor! Stupid Fuji! Ryoma frowned with frustration.

"What are you doing here?" Sakuno asked happily. Ryoma's eyes were wide open and staring at the floor in front of him. What was she doing here? Why wasn't she at class already? When did class start anyway? Was he tardy? She didn't seem stressed though. Had she been waiting for someone? The realization made Ryoma almost gasp - Sakuno and Fuji - maybe they had decided to meet here. Like a... a date?

No that couldn't be. Right? Sakuno had sounded surprised to see Fuji. And she had even asked him what he was doing here. But still... Ryoma peeked out from his hiding spot. They seemed to chat away pretty happily.

"I'm waiting for Ryoma," Fuji answered and made Ryoma's heart leap almost painfully. "And you?"

Fuji had been waiting for him? Why? It struck Ryoma, despite his beating heart and flaming cheeks, that he and Fuji both were members of the tennis-club, and that Fuji probably wanted to talk about tennis-stuff. Sure enough, Tennis was what Ryoma lived for, but right now, he wasn't exactly overjoyed by the thought of it.

"I'm also waiting for Ryoma-kun," Sakuno replied, and suddenly sounded a bit shy. "He's rather late though."

"Yeah..." Fuji said with a troubled expression and glanced at his watch. "I have to go to class soon, too. I needed to speak with him."

"Oh? About what?" Sakuno asked in that girly, cutesy way she always spoke. Ryoma wasn't sure if she did it on purpose, or if she really did talk that way.

"Tennis", Fuji replied with an amused smile. "The tennis-club never rests, you know."

Ryoma cursed himself! He wanted to talk to Fuji, but he couldn't jump out now! They would understand that he had been standing there all along. Not to mention, he was already blushing! He'd be damned if he ever let Fuji see him like that! He glanced at his watch and cursed. He was already late. Why the heck was that girl still waiting for him? Maybe it was just an excuse so that she could stay and talk to Fuji? Stupid bitch. And he was really late, too. He had to find a way to get out without them noticing that he had been hiding.

Ryoma took another peek and smirked a little as both of them were looking the other way. Then he took a step out with an uncaring face. Well, he hoped it was uncaring.

"Good morning." he greeted and they both jumped at the sound of his voice. Sakuno smiled at him.

"Ryoma-kun! Good morning!" She looked as if she was about to hug him but stopped herself in the last second and put her hands behind her back. "Why are you so late? Class started almost ten minutes ago."

He gave her a somewhat friendly smile, or at least as friendly as he could muster. He seriously didn't like her at the moment.

"Yes, well... I was... uh, busy. Listen, Sakuno, you don't have to wait for me. I'll be with you in just a sec."

"But I-"

She stopped talking as Ryoma gave her a tense smile. Then she blushed and nodded before going into the classroom. Ryoma turned to Fuji while trying to look as cool as possible.

"So... You wanted to talk to me about something?"

Fuji smiled and opened one of his brilliant blue eyes, making Ryoma flinch and avert his eyes.

"Yes, but first... maybe you could tell me why you were hiding behind those lockers?"

Ryoma stared at the senpai with wide eyes and burning cheeks. He took a step backwards and smiled what he hoped was a self confident smirk, even though his self confidence was currently extremely non-existent.

"What are you-"

"I saw you when you peeked at us, you know," Fuji laughed and peered at Ryoma with a teasing glint in his blue eyes. "Were you hiding from someone special?"

"N-not really..." Ryoma replied and suddenly felt horrified, exhausted and extremely exposed. Had he been found out? The thought made his head hurt. He was so not ready for this. "Look, if you didn't have anything to tell me I should just-"

"No, I wanted to talk to you!" Fuji said and placed a hand on Ryoma's shoulder, as Ryoma had turned his back on him. Fuji gave Ryoma a smile. "It's about the match against Senzu. Tezuka has already decided that you're going to play singles two. That okay with you?"

Ryoma nodded and gave Fuji a glance. There was no denying it - the older boy really was very good looking. The gentle mouth, the silky hair... All in all, Fuji seemed to be an image of perfection. Ryoma turned away again, as his cheeks started to burn. It almost disgusted him; This power that Fuji had over him. It always left him helpless, breathless, and Fuji didn't even know about it!

"Why are you the one telling me this? Shouldn't Tezuka-senpai tell us? Or Ryuuzaki-san?" Ryoma said quietly, trying to maintain a normal conversation. Fuji shook his head with a troubled face.

"Unfortunately, Tezuka is very ill at the moment. He called me this morning and told me to tell the rest of the team. Hopefully, he'll recover before the end of this week, because he is singles one."

Ryoma blinked and stared at Fuji.

"And what about you?" Ryoma had assumed that Fuji would be singles one, if Ryoma himself was singles two. Fuji smiled again, but the smile didn't seem to reach his closed eyes.

"I'm not playing. Or, well... If Tezuka remains ill, I will take over as singles one, but as of right now, I don't have a playing position in the match against Senzu."

"What?" Ryoma exclaimed. "Why not?" Fuji wouldn't be playing? Didn't Tezuka find him good enough? Strangely, that ticked Ryoma off. More than usual.

Fuji looked a bit surprised with Ryoma's reaction, and Ryoma immediately realized how odd he was behaving. He cleared his throat and turned his face away with an annoyed pout.

"You know, cuz... well, I just think you deserve to play."

God, he was so stupid. He might as well come clean and confess right away! About the whole deny-that-you're-madly-in-love-with-Fuji-senpai-plan... well, he wasn't doing a very good job, was he?

"I see," Fuji replied and his smile faltered. "Well, I can't deny that I was hoping for a singles-position. I have an old... acquaintance in Senzu that I would like to play against. To tell the truth, I was hoping to play singles two, myself. Now you're the one who has to face him." Fuji suddenly seemed darker than usual. His ever-present smile wasn't there anymore, and his blue eyes were directed to the floor. Ryoma flinched and followed Fuji's gaze to the floor.

"I could..." Ryoma started and fisted the hem of his shirt nervously as he spoke. "I could ask Tezuka to let me play singles three instead. Maybe he'd let you play singles two that way-"

"Nah," Fuji waved his hand in a dismissing manner. "Don't worry about it. I'm looking forward to the game anyway. I don't want you to give up your chance to play just for me."

"It's not like I-" Ryoma exclaimed almost angrily but stopped in mid-sentence and averted his eyes. "I don't really... care... But you seem to want to play pretty badly."

Fuji was silent for a little while. Then he gave a soft laugh and placed a hand on Ryoma's head.

"You're surprisingly caring, aren't you?"

Ryoma gave a noise from his throat as a fierce blush crawled over his cheeks again and he quickly took a step backwards, so that the hand that was previously placed on his head accidently went down his nose and lips before Fuji could pull it back. Ryoma blinked and stared at his senpai with large eyes. It was as if his body couldn't remember how to move, because he really didn't want to stand still at the moment. Running away as far as possible was more what Ryoma had in mind, but his legs just wouldn't work.

"Ryoma?" Fuji said, looking a bit worried. "Are you okay?"

Somehow, the sound of Fuji's voice triggered Ryoma's body back to its functional state and the younger boy took yet another stiff step back.

"I-I have to go to class." Ryoma choked out, turned away from Fuji and before the senpai had the chance to stop him Ryoma opened the door, ran into the classroom and closed the door firmly behind his back. With a pounding heart, Ryoma leaned against the closed door and scrunched his eyes shut. He needed so bad to calm down, but the warmth of Fuji's hand still lingered on his head and Ryoma remembered every single thing the tenzai had said and-

"Echizen-kun?"

Ryoma snapped his eyes open and stared at the teacher who stared back at him with a shocked expression. Oh right... He was in class. Ryoma swallowed, gave a quick bow to his teacher and walked past his stunned classmates to his seat. He didn't have the energy to spare them a second glance, or care about the girls giggling at him. He sat down and leaned his elbow on the desk. While staring out the window - he didn't have to pay attention to what the teacher was saying, since it was English class - he put his pinkie in his mouth and bit down, almost angrily, as if it would help him to keep his focus.

It was... seriously getting out of hand. Why did he have to stop and talk to damned senpai? Why?! He knew this was going to happen! How could he be so weak? It was insane! He had just spent the entire night, convincing himself to ignore senpai. To deny any possible emotion he had towards the older boy. To just... pretend that he was _not_ in love with Fuji! And yet, as soon as Ryoma had seen him in the corridor, all of his coherent thoughts had flown out the window. His earlier so strong conviction had meant nothing to him. Didn't he have the power to control his thoughts anymore? Insanity, indeed.

And Fuji's hand had touched his lips...

Ryoma blushed and pulled his finger out of his mouth. His tongue slid out and licked his lips, as if he would be able to taste Fuji that way. Then he gave a frustrated groan and buried his face in his hands. He fisted his hair hard enough to hurt and stared down at his desk with damp, angry eyes.

There was indeed... nothing he could do.

tbc

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Author's rant, please read;

I want you to understand something - this fic ain't just gonna be about sex. There's more to it than that. Ryoma's thirteen years old and he's just realized that he's in love with another guy. Can you imagine how he must be feeling? Don't forget - even though Ryoma might be a manga character, I'm an author who likes to make the characters behave as human as possible. In other words - Ryoma has _emotions_ for crying out loud! I want people to be able to identify with Ryoma and recognize the situations. To relate, you know?

I hate fics where the plot moves forward so fast that the characters don't even have to speak to each other - they're just having a quick and oh-so-romantic lemon and then it's over. Cheesy, clishé-like _love_ and sex, where (for example) Fuji just has to give Ryoma _one_ heated look to make the younger boy understand that he wants him and then they have sex, they cum and tell each other that they love each other and give each tender kisses and so on... Yuck! It's unrealistic and frankly, only makes the fic ridiculously _unromantic_. It's a child-like idea of what love truly is. I don't believe in love at first sight.

So this chapter, and probably many chapters ahead, will be about his emotions and his struggle. Sure enough, I'll throw in some limes here and there (Ryoma's got hormones, after all), so don't you worry about that, but if you're looking for a fic with kinky lemons and limes in every single chapter, I suggest you keep on looking for one.

Please review. Ne? :3


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Prince of Tennis.

I own the plot of this fic and any character that may appear that's not from the manga/anime is also my property. If you steal/copy this from me to use in your own fics, or claim as your own work, I just have one thing to say to you - it's against the law, and I'll see to it that your account is erased. I've done it before, and believe me, I can do it again. I've got faithful fans who are watching out for me. Just so you know.

Warnings: Yaoi (japanese concept for men sleeping with each other. _Snort_. As if you didn't know that already.), regular doses of angst and random ooc-ness.

Author's note - Thank you so much for all the nice reviews. I'm glad you all agreed with my little rant, and I'll do my best not to disappoint you guys. Just tell me if you think the story's lacking something and I'll give it a thought. I do actually read and consider my reviews - if they are reasonable.

Also, I'm terribly sorry for always taking so long. See, my laptop crashed last week, but now my sister's boyfriend fixed it for me! It's like brand new. Woot! Hopefully, I'll be able to update a bit more often from now on, but just for the record - I do have a life. (laugh) Among other things, I have a summer job to tend to... So yeah. You get the drill.

E/N (Ciiah's beta) : Also, if she's late, it may be my fault as well. I'll be starting a new college semester so I'll be plenty busy. Your patience is appreciated. We both love you all! XD Ender

Chapter three.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ryoma had finally calmed down from the meeting with Fuji earlier, and he even managed to eat a normal lunch with Horio-kun without thinking about Fuji once every minute. Ryoma felt proud of this. At least he wasn't a helpless slave of passion…yet.

But now, the moment he had dreaded all day had finally arrived. The last class had ended. Now he had to go to the tennis court and practice. With the rest of the team. Which included Fuji. Who he did not want to see. True, he had calmed down and managed to go through the day with only thinking about Fuji a few times before he caught himself and then cursed angrily before forcing himself to think of other things. But that didn't mean that he could stand another meeting with Fuji so soon without starting to blush and stutter like a girl.

_I'm comparing myself to girls._ Ryoma thought. _How lame._

He just needed to gather his thoughts. Yes. If he could just find his focus he would be able to, at least, pretend he was his normal, cold self who couldn't care less about other people. Especially not Fuji. Why did he have to like Fuji anyway? When had it started? Was it when Fuji took his shirt off? No. It must've started earlier. It wasn't as if Ryoma would fall in love just because he got to see Fuji without a shirt. He had seen Fuji without a shirt before, in the showers...

So when did it start? When had the friendship that he and Fuji shared start to become more than that? At first, Ryoma had thought of Fuji almost like one of those really wise older brothers who always kept his cool and always knew what to do. Because that's what Fuji was like. Always calm and collected, and always the smartest and wisest and most brilliant and coolest and-

Ryoma stopped his own little dazed rant of passion and stared at the floor, his tennis-shirt limply hanging from his hand, sitting on the locker room bench in his white shorts. He grinded his teeth and closed his eyes for a second before continuing to dress himself.

Somewhere along the way, Ryoma's admiration and respect for Fuji had grown into affection, that much was obvious. Ryoma had no idea when. Maybe it had happened gradually. And Ryoma hated it.

"So stupid. So fucking stupid," he muttered angrily and punched himself weakly on the chest, as if he could somehow beat some sense back into his obviously confused heart by doing so. However, he only earned himself a slight ache, and the heart kept drumming away as if nothing had happened. Ryoma was angry.

It wasn't what it was supposed to be like. It was all so weird and mixed up and sick. He had always known about homosexuality, and all the teachers at school kept telling the kids that there was absolutely nothing wrong with being gay. Yeah, right. It didn't mean that being gay wasn't difficult. Or confusing. And... Ryoma seriously did not want to be gay.

Horrific pictures of men dressing in tight, pink t-shirts and girly jewelry kept popping up inside his head. And those stupid motions the men used; wiggling their ass as they walked, waving their hands whenever they spoke or laughed like a girl. Ryoma had even seen gay men using Make-up! Like pink lipstick or mascara. It was all so stupid and weird. Ryoma wasn't homophobic. In truth, he used to think gays were brave. But that did _not_ mean he wanted to be one of them! He had more dignity than that! He was a man for crying out loud!

With an angry huff, Ryoma put on his shirt and glanced at himself in the mirror, before frowning and putting on his cap. He was a boy, wasn't he? He had the body of a man, with all the correct and functional anatomical parts. He had no breasts. He didn't have curves, although he had to admit he was a bit slimmer than most boys his age. But that was solely due to years of hard work. His eyes moved to his hair and they studied the dair brown strands. He always thought it odd that in the sunlight a strange hint of green would show up. He looked back into his annoyed looking eyes and then glanced at his small mouth that seemed to fit well with his boyish face.

Why did it have to be like this?!

Ryoma was well aware of the fact that he didn't look bad. Since he had received more than a few love letters, he had come to understand that many girls found him attractive. He had never once paid any of them any kind of attention. He usually didn't even have the decency to give a proper reply to any of the love confessions he had gotten during the last few months. Ryoma preferred to let the girls realize on their own that he wasn't interested. By ignoring them.

That was who he was. He was generally rather kind, but not if it meant trouble for him. It was his persona - cold and indifferent.

So fuck Fuji! Fuck Fuji and his perfect appearance. Fuck himself for actually finding Fuji attractive! It was so wrong!

"Ochibi?" Ryoma flinched as he had just punched his chest for the third time while thinking his angry thoughts. Kikamaru-senpai stood in front of him, Fuji behind Kikamaru. They both stared at him with concerned and slightly amused faces. "What are you doing, nya?" Kikamaru asked and cocked his head to the side. Fuji didn't say anything but waited for Ryoma to explain his unusual behavior.

Ryoma was still seething with anger at himself and his troublesome feelings, so when the senpais smiled at him, waiting for a reply, he merely shrugged and turned his face away.

"I'm just having a bad day", he muttered and reached for his racquet. He was just about to leave when he heard Fuji say something, and his legs froze, even though he desperately wanted to get the hell out of there. It was like every time Fuji did anything at all, his body went dysfunctional. Ryoma closed his eyes in frustration. It would've been easier to walk out and pretend he didn't hear it.

"Say what?" He asked and turned back to the older boy. Eiji had already bounced out of the room, so they were alone. Fuji smiled smugly, and Ryoma frowned. There was something strange with how the older tennis player was acting.

"I said, 'Does it have anything to do with what happened this morning?' I _thought_ you looked a bit flustered, but to think it was actually this serious? You surprise me, Ryoma-kun." And Fuji smiled again, as his closed eyes turned into horse shoes. Ryoma stared at the boy for a second as his heart raced wildly inside his chest. Panic started to make itself known as Ryoma kept screaming to himself inwardly, 'HE KNOWS!'

The younger of the two stood, paralyzed, for a few seconds before he lowered his head and swallowed. He needed to think straight. Was Fuji really aware of Ryoma's feelings, or was he referring to something else? Being such a damn sadist, Fuji might be well aware of Ryoma's infatuation, but still be referring to something else, only to torture and confuse Ryoma.

But really, Fuji couldn't possibly know. Could he? He was, after all, a very clever young man. But still... It's not as if Ryoma had done something to let Fuji know, was there? It's not as if Ryoma had actually told him. So in actuality, Fuji might be suspicious, but that was also all he could be, Ryoma decided. So he put on an uncaring face and pretended to adjust the stiff, plastic strings on his racquet before replying.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Fuji gave a slight laugh and Ryoma flinched as the sound caused small, stupid goosebumps to spread over his thin arms. Ryoma frowned with annoyance.

"Your 'bad day'. Does it have anything to do with this morning?"

"I still don't understand what you're yapping about, senpai", Ryoma drawled and gave the older a cold look. "Are you talking about me being tardy for class? Trust me, there are worse things."

Fuji looked a little confused for a second, and Ryoma couldn't help but to smirk at the sight of those blue eyes as they opened to glance at him. Fuji couldn't possibly know. There was no chance in hell. Right? Right?

"No, I meant-"

"I don't care what you meant", Ryoma snapped back, surprising himself. But honestly, was the senpai daft or something? Wasn't it more than a little obvious that Ryoma didn't want to talk about it? About anything that the senpai could possibly have on his mind? Ryoma wasn't interested. He didn't want to know what the senpai had figured out, or what he had not figured out. Fuji stared at him now, and Ryoma realized how angry he had sounded. However, fear often caused an angry reaction with Ryoma. He couldn't help it. And it was best this way. If Fuji thought Ryoma was angry with him, maybe he would stop figuring things out!

"... It's nothing to be ashamed of, you know", Fuji said, once again sounding like one of those wise and supporting big brothers. Ryoma's golden orbs stared into blue ones before the younger shook his head slowly. Fuji seemed to realize that Ryoma was starting to freak out - which he totally was - because he gave Ryoma a careful smile and took a step forward. "It's bound to happen to us all, you know-"

"Shut up", Ryoma said, his voice shaking a little. "It's not like you understand it. You don't even know what I... Just shut up."

"Of course I understand", Fuji said and laughed, oblivious to the fact that Ryoma was blushing like mad and the rage that was storming and rioting inside of the younger one. "I'm older than you. I've experienced it before. Everyone falls in love _some_ time. At least once."

Ryoma swallowed and took a step back. His leg felt numb. Oh god. The senpai actually did know. How? Had Ryoma said something, or done something that had let Fuji understand what he felt? Had his gaze lingered a little too long on him at some point? Had he accidently given a sign of too obvious an affection? And then it finally hit Ryoma. His mistake. And he shut his eyes to curse himself and his aching heart.

All those cheesy, silly things he had said in the morning about him changing to singles three, so that Fuji would be able to play. Ryoma knew himself better than anyone, and it certainly wasn't like him to give up a singles position. Not even to one of his best friends. He loved tennis too much to do that, and everyone knew and respected that fact. And still Ryoma had offered Fuji his position, and for what?

_'You seem to want to play pretty badly.' _

"Ryoma?"

Ryoma snapped back into the cruel reality and gave the older boy an angry, defeated glance.

"What?"

Fuji blinked and looked even more confused now - a look that most definitely didn't suit him. Because Fuji always knew what to do. And he obviously knew. What the fuck? Why did he look confused?

"Why are you so upset?" Fuji asked, and Ryoma gaped. Why, he asked? WHY?

_Oh I dunno, maybe because this is the first time I've fallen in love. And you just happen to be a guy. And now you've found out that I'm madly in love with you and you probably even know that I've touched myself to your image, because you seem to know just about everything about me, even though I was trying so hard to hide it - you missed that part, didn't you - and now you're gonna tell me that you don't feel the same, but we can still be friends, and I hate being in love with you, I hate you, I hate you, I love you, I hate-_

"Because!" Ryoma snarled. Very mature. "Just leave me the hell alone. It wasn't supposed to be like this, damnit!"

"What? What are you talking about? You're _thirteen_ for Kami's sake. It's not weird that you're in love! Almost everyone is in love with _someone_!" Fuji exclaimed and studied Ryoma's angry features. Ryoma glared at him.

"Yeah, sure, but not like this!" It annoyed Ryoma that Fuji was acting so casual. What the hell was that? Fuji was so damn wise. He should be able to understand that falling in love with someone of the same gender isn't exactly something that's easy to deal with! Not when you're thirteen. _Damnit!_

"Why not?"

Ryoma sighed and rubbed his sweaty forehead with irritation.

"Because," he repeated, in a much more hushed tone this time. "... Let's just go to practice. We're already late." He started walking towards the door again, but stopped midway and turned his face towards Fuji. "Don't tell anyone about this. I swear I'll never forgive you if you do. It'll pass soon enough, if I just give it some time."

He was relieved as his hand touched the doorknob, because as soon as he got out of there, he could run to the tennis courts and pay no further attention to Fuji. But before he could do so, he was once again stopped by a smiling Fuji, whom he loved and hated and wanted to shout at and hit and kick and hug and kiss and kill.

"Tell you what", Fuji said, once again smiling smugly. "Come to the cinema at seven tonight. I guarantee you'll like it." And with that, the older boy left a stunned Ryoma-kun in the room, surrounded by dirty towels and water bottles some students had left behind.

What. The hell? Honestly. Ryoma blinked at the closed door.

Had Fuji just asked him out on a date? What? _What?_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ryoma walked around in a daze. He couldn't quite remember how he had been able to actually finish practice and successfully avoid Fuji's gaze, pack his stuff, and finally ask Momo for a ride home.

But nevertheless, the room he was pacing around in was his own.

Fuji had asked him on a date. Fuji, the boy he was currently having a mad crush on, had asked him on a date. Was this for real? Really? Had Fuji understood his feelings? Was he returning them? Or was this simply a date out of pity? Ryoma didn't want to think about it. The only thing he wanted to think about was the fact that in less than two hours, he would be sitting inside a dark salon, watching a movie, with the boy he was in love with.

In love with.

Ryoma still hated the words, and he refused to say them out loud. "In love" was something only girls said and did. Boys, however, were supposed to express their attraction by saying something like "she's hot." Ryoma opened his mouth.

"He's hot." Two seconds of silence, then Ryoma closed his eyes with a loud groan and threw himself on the bed, furiously blushing. God, that sounded stupid! He squirmed on the bed for a few minutes, cursing how silly it all was, until he stilled and stared into his pillow. Then he muttered out a quiet; "I... _like_ him."

He smiled. That sounded better. To say that he liked someone wasn't as dramatic as saying he was in love. Even if someone asked him, he could say "I like Fuji", without feeling more than necessarily embarrassed because it was ambiguous. To _like_ someone of the same gender as a friend wasn't weird. No one had to know that Ryoma liked Fuji more than as a friend.

Ryoma sat up and stared with unseeing eyes at his not so very tidy room. His cheeks still felt warm, and he could feel how his mouth was smiling a bit, even though his facial muscles were relaxed.

There was a knock on the door, and Ryoma snapped back into reality just in time to see his father's head peek into his dark room.

"Shounen? Ryoma?" He said and took a few steps into the room, even though Ryoma hadn't invited him. The boy glared at his father to let the older man understand that he wanted to be left alone. Nanjirou didn't get the hint, as usual. "You wanna play a match against your old man?"

Usually, Ryoma would've agreed, because he'd never let a chance to try and beat his father in tennis pass, but today was different. Today, he had better things to do.

"No thanks", he said and turned his face away a few inches to show his annoyance with his father's presence. "Get out."

They were both silent for a few seconds before the father spoke again, causing Ryoma to shut his eyes and slump his stiff shoulders. He just wanted to be left alone.

"Do you..." The man started and stared at his son. "Wanna talk about it?"

Ryoma turned to stare disbelievingly at his dad, as the older man looked a bit embarrassed and scratched the back of his head.

"Talk?" Ryoma repeated. Nanjirou sighed.

"I'm not gonna lie to you - your mother sent me here, but really... Ryoma, the way you acted this morning wasn't like you. Is something wrong?"

Ryoma sighed and stood up from his bed while shaking his head.

"Nothing's wrong, I was just having a bad morning. I haven't been able to sleep very good lately", Ryoma said, telling a half truth. The lack of sleep was true, but he would rather die than to tell his father the cause.

Nanjirou sighed with obvious relief - the talk was clearly over and done with and he was free to leave. Mission completed.

"Well then!" The man chuckled and went towards the door. "I thought you might have had a crush or something!"

The man left his son's room, oblivious to the fact that his last words had caused a violent flinch with Ryoma, who now stared at the door, frozen in all his movements. Was he really that obvious? Fuji had noticed, and now his own dad? Ryoma had thought he'd been doing a pretty good job in hiding his feelings, but apparently he was mistaken. With a heavy sigh, Ryoma looked over to the pile of clothes on his chair, and something inside of him clicked - What was he going to wear?

Ryoma couldn't possibly go on a date, wearing his training outfit! He stalked up to the pile of clothes to see if he could find anything suitable for the evening. Ryoma had never really cared much for clothes. The only things he wore were his school uniform and his tennis outfit. When he was at home, he usually wore sweatpants and large t-shirts; Comfortable and laid back.

He owned a lot of nice looking clothes, though, mostly because his mother couldn't help but to buy new clothes for him whenever she went out to shop. She was a rather fashionable American, who knew what young boys wore these days. She knew a lot more than Ryoma when it came down to clothes, so he trusted her.

Digging through the pile, he found a pair of tight, black jeans he had been thinking about wearing one day, but he had changed his mind, seeing as the sun was scorching that day. He pulled them on, and noticed with a blush of embarrassment that they were indeed quite tight. They showed off a lot more of Ryoma's slim figure than his usual baggy pair of shorts did. He decided they would have to do, and quickly turned to his closet to find a shirt. After a few worried minutes, he finally found a white t-shirt with a black print on the chest. It said "It's not that I'm cold, I'm just really cool."

Ryoma frowned at the text. Then he shrugged and pulled it on. When he glanced at himself in the mirror, he had to admit he looked pretty good. He looked like all of those fashionable teenage boys he used to see on the streets whenever his mother forced him to go for a shopping trip with her. Now, he should probably do something with his hair. He didn't know what though. He couldn't ask his mother, who was in fact the only one in the family who knew anything at all about hair, because, unfortunately, his mother was better than Nanjirou at figuring things out. He blushed and hated the idea of telling his parents he had a date, even though he didn't necessarily have to tell them it was with a boy.

He dragged a hand through his messy strands and sighed. What should he do with it? Maybe he should just grab a comb and try to sort the messy bangs out? Maybe he should just let it be the way it always was - tussled. In fact, Ryoma realized, it'd probably feel better if he didn't do anything with his hair. He didn't want to show up for his first date looking like he had spent three days in front of the mirror. The clothes were enough. But Ryoma still knew something was missing. One small detail that'd make his appearance perfect for a first date.

It was late spring, and the evenings were pretty warm, so Ryoma didn't have to wear a jacket or anything but the t-shirt felt too naked. He needed... a scarf! Yes! Ryoma snapped his fingers and rushed back to his closet. He knew he'd gotten a scarf from his American relatives last Christmas. He smiled as he finally found it - a large, square, black scarf with white stripes. Not really sure how to wear it more exactly, Ryoma tried to remember how other teenage boys looked like. In the end, he sighed and put the damn scarf around his neck, hoping it looked okay.

He threw a glance to the clock above his bed and bit his lip nervously. Ten past six, already? He should get going soon. He didn't own a bike, so he'd have to walk downtown, which would take him abound twenty minutes. That gave him enough time to brush his teeth and wash his face before leaving. Ryoma peeked out of his room in case his father would be anywhere close by. The man wasn't, so Ryoma rushed to the bathroom, closed the door and locked it. He turned to the mirror above the sink and frowned when he saw the nervous look on his face.

Trying to look and feel calmer, he grabbed his toothbrush and put some tooth paste on it before putting it into his mouth. While brushing his teeth, he couldn't help but to let his mind wander. Which movie were they going to see? How much money should he bring? Maybe Fuji would pay for his ticket? What would Fuji look like? What if Ryoma had dressed up too much?

Sighing as he brought himself back into reality, Ryoma rinsed out his mouth and washed his face quickly. He was just about to leave the bathroom when he spotted something behind the cup containing the family's tooth brushes - His father's cologne. Maybe he should take some of it? Just a little? Ryoma reached out for the bottle and brought it to his nose. It smelled good, Ryoma thought and smiled a little. He'd never worn cologne before, but now it felt like a good a time as any.

Tugging the scarf down a little to reveal the skin of his throat, Ryoma brought the bottle to it and pushed the spray button. A large cloud of perfume came out, so Ryoma waved his hand so that he wouldn't smell like he had taken a shower in cologne. Then he took a sniff on his scarf and smiled again. It smelled nice. More grown-up.

"Here goes nothing", he murmured and exited the room, praying to all the gods he knew that he wouldn't bump into his father on his way downstairs. He made it through the corridor and then the stairs. When he got to the hallway he stopped to see if he could hear the sounds of footsteps. He couldn't, so he sat down and put on the black pair of shoes he usually wore for school. He stood up and was about to grab the doorknob when suddenly...

"And where, may I ask, are you going, young man?" His mother's voice said and Ryoma froze. He turned around and looked at her with a small, hopefully invisible blush. He put his hands in his pockets to look as casual as possible. He shrugged.

"Nowhere. Out for some tennis..."

"In those clothes?" The woman sniggered and quirked an eyebrow. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Where are you _really_ going? Ryoma?" Ryoma shuddered a little. Whenever she said his name like, it meant she wouldn't give up until he had actually told her the truth. Or at least told her a story she'd buy. So, hoping he possessed some kind of acting skills, he sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm just going to the cinema with some friends. I know it's late and that I have school tomorrow, but it's Momo's birthday, so... Please?"

The woman stared suspiciously at him and Ryoma could only hope she wouldn't see the nervous trembling in his hands. She sniffed in the air, and Ryoma swallowed.

"Is that... your father's cologne?" She stared at Ryoma who looked around, trying to look innocent and shrugged again.

"Uh... No?"

His mother gave a slight laugh and shook her head with amusement. Then she gave him a smile and nodded.

"Have fun. I want you back at ten."

Ryoma sighed with relief and nodded. He smiled and left the house. As he walked down the streets, he started feeling nervous again. His heart thumped hard and fast and Ryoma's head was spinning with thoughts of how the evening would play out. He still couldn't believe Fuji had been so cool about it, and even asked him out! It was insane. A few months ago, before Ryoma started to realize he might be gay, if some guy had told Ryoma he had a crush on him, Ryoma would probably freak out.

He stopped in his tracks as the cinema finally came into vision. He stared at it for a few seconds, as if he hadn't quite decided whether or not to go through with it. Not to go through with it seemed rather dumb though. And cowardly. So Ryoma started to walk again. A large clock on a nearby wall told him it was six forty pm. Twenty minutes to go. Better early than late, Ryoma thought and leaned against the red brick wall of the cinema. There were at least twenty different movie posters stuck on the wall, and there was a big yellow and red neon sign over the entrance that said "_Cinema". _

After five minutes, Ryoma started to stroll around and look at the different posters on the wall. He knew that there were four different theaters inside the cinema, each one showing different movies. There were horror movies, comedies, dramas and romantic ones. Ryoma didn't know which one they were going to watch. A romantic movie would probably be appropriate for a date, but at the same time Ryoma would feel extremely embarrassed and uncomfortable if they were to watch a movie like "The Long Road Home" or "One Rose, One Love".

"R-ryoma-kun?" Someone said and Ryoma turned around with a painfully racing heart. Was it Fuji? No, it had been a girl's voice...

"Oh, hello... Ryuzaki-san", he said and gave the girl a polite smile. She smiled back and turned her eyes to the ground, while fidgeting and rubbing her fingers together in a nervous manner. She was wearing a white shirt and a pink skirt with white stockings and a pair of red shoes with pink bows attached to them. A brown purse was hanging from her shoulder.

"You look really nice tonight, Ryoma-kun", she said quietly, so that Ryoma almost couldn't hear.

"Uh... Thanks. So do you", he said and almost flinched as her face perked up to give him a bright smile.

"Really? Im glad! I stood in front of the mirror for ages. I didn't know what you liked..." Ryoma frowned with confusion.

_What the hell is she talking about? _

"Why... I mean..." Somewhere in his mind, red sirens went off. Something was definitely wrong. "Are you waiting for someone special?" He asked her, filled with dread. The girl stopped smiling and stared at him. She turned her face to the ground again.

"W-well... I thought..."

"Ryoma!" A new voice joined in and Ryoma turned around, facing a brightly smiling Fuji. A Fuji who wasn't alone. A Fuji with a date. A female date. "There you are! I hope we aren't late." The older boy grinned at Ryoma's stunned face, oblivious to the fact that Ryoma's chest started to hurt. He gave Ryuzaki-san a happy smile and then turned to Ryoma and gave him a wink, one that Ryoma didn't respond to.

Fuji looked great. Seeing Fuji in something other than his school uniform or his tennis outfit was a rare treat, and Ryoma drank in his appearance without holding back. Grey, tight jeans. A black, elbow sleeved shirt under a sleeveless, brown button-up cardigan. He was also wearing a black watch and a silver ring on his left thumb.

"Fuji-" Ryoma started but was interrupted.

"This is Riku-chan. I met her last week at the café next to the library!" Fuji said and patted his date on the shoulder. The older girl smiled at Ryoma and extended her hand for him to shake. She was beautiful, Ryoma noticed with an aching heart. She had brown, curly hair that reached a bit past her shoulder, big green eyes and rosy cheeks. A black skirt and a crimson shirt covered her curvy body.

Slowly, and utterly painfully, Ryoma started to realize what was going on. Fuji hadn't asked him out on a date. Fuji had set him up for a double date... With Ryuzaki-san. Who he barely knew. What. The. Fuck.

"...and so we decided to see this one!" Fuji said and gestured to a poster that showed the teary face of a woman and the angry face of a man who was holding a rose in his hand. "One Rose, One Love. Sounds interesting, doesn't it?" Fuji said cheerfully. Ryoma just stared at him, feeling more and more numb. God, he felt stupid. Fuji hadn't figured out anything. He wasn't even suspecting Ryoma's true emotions. And why the hell had Fuji set Ryoma up with Ryuzaki-san of all people?

Ryoma looked up and realized he had followed Fuji, his date and Ryuzaki-san to the entrance where they were about to buy tickets. Fuji turned to Ryoma and smiled.

"Aren't you coming, Ryoma?" He said, so happily, so oblivious. So sure of himself. Convinced that he had done something great. A favor for poor, little Ryoma, who was too scared to ask the girl out himself. Ryoma's eyes were stuck to the red carpet below his feet, but he didn't reply for a few seconds. Then he met the slightly puzzled look of Fuji and shook his head while giving a shaky smile.

"You know what? I think I'll go back home after all. I... have homework to do." And with that, he turned away from the small group and walked away with quick steps.

"R-ryoma...-kun?" He heard Ryuzaki-san say before he heard quick footsteps running away in the opposite direction. Ryoma didn't care right now. He hadn't the energy to even pretend he cared about the girl, even though he had obviously hurt her. Fuck, he was stupid! He had just spent almost two hours getting ready for the damn date, and then it turns out he wasn't even Fuji's date? And Fuji had a date of his own. A pretty girl. Someone Ryoma could never compete with. Damn Fuji and his amazing looks. Ryoma didn't know if he was relieved that Fuji still was unaware of Ryoma's affection, or if he was annoyed that the usually clever boy was so dense.

Dense was the wrong word, really. Fuji wasn't stupid. Fuji had simply jumped to the most logical conclusion, even though it was far from correct.

Panic rose in Ryoma's chest as he heard fast footsteps running behind him. Ryoma was about to start running as well, but a strong hand grabbed his elbow and pulled him back. Ryoma almost fell, but managed to keep himself up. He refused to turn around and face the boy, but stubbornly kept trying to walk away, even though the hand on his arm forced him to stay. He tried to shrug the hand off, but Fuji was stronger, and as soon as his grip started to slip, he took a new, firmer grip.

"Ryoma, stop!" Fuji said, sounded very confused. "What the hell is the matter? I thought-"

"Yeah, you think a lot! Too much!" Ryoma sneered and finally broke free from the grip, but he didn't walk away now. Anger and hurt thrummed in his body and made his head throb. And his heart. "What the hell were you thinking, setting me up with Sakura-san?" He said angrily and turned back to glare at Fuji.

"Sakuno," Fuji corrected with a puzzled frown. "But... I thought you were in love?"

"I _am_ in love!" Ryoma exclaimed before he could stop himself and let out a groan.

"Then what's the problem? I thought you'd be glad to go on a date with her-"

"She's not the one!" Ryoma sneered and crouched on the ground, gripping his hair in frustration. He couldn't take much more. His head hurt, his pounding heart was aching, and he felt so incredibly humiliated. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to go home, go to bed, and cry for the rest of the night. "She's not the one I like..." He murmured quietly and stood up, keeping his gaze low. He would be damned if he ever met Fuji's gaze again.

"But this morning, you... I was so sure..." Fuji said, and Ryoma blinked slowly. He realized that the way he had behaved this morning had apparently let Fuji believe he was attracted to Ryuzaki-san. Made sense, he supposed. "Then who...?" Fuji said, and even though Ryoma wasn't looking, he could feel Fuji's gaze on him. With a burning face and a heart thumping in terror, Ryoma slowly perked his head up, and after a few seconds of dreadful hesitation, he met Fuji's blue, confused eyes. As soon as their eyes met, there was something in Ryoma that cracked. Fuji really didn't know, did he? How come that hurt so much?

Realization suddenly made Fuji's blue eyes open and Ryoma swallowed. He was so nervous, he felt sick. Fuji's cheeks paled, then pinked with blushing. Out of embarrassment, obviously. The older boy suddenly seemed much less confident, lowering his shocked gaze to the ground. It made Ryoma feel like he had just said something repulsing to Fuji. As if it was Ryoma's fault. As if Ryoma disgusted Fuji. And finally Fuji spoke.

"...Oh."

'Oh?' Was that it? 'Oh?'

Ryoma closed his eyes and turned his back on Fuji. He wanted to have the strength to remain cool. Or at least have the energy to kick Fuji's ass for _finally_ getting the picture. A few days ago, Ryoma had been trying so hard not to let Fuji know. And now he did know. And Ryoma felt numb. He felt like someone had ripped out his heart, stomped on it, chewed on it and then put it back in. He was mentally exhausted. He wanted to sleep.

"Yeah", Ryoma said, with his back to Fuji. The older boy didn't say anything but he didn't move either. "For a genius, you're a pretty big idiot at times." Ryoma started to walk away.

"... Ryoma, I..." Fuji said after a few seconds. His voice was hesitant, shocked still. For once, it was obvious that Fuji Syuusuke, had no idea what to do.

"Don't", Ryoma said and turned to give Fuji an angry glance. "Just shut up. Let's just forget about this. Don't tell anyone, or I swear I'll kick your ass."

And Ryoma walked away. The sky was darkening, and turned purple and pink at the edges. He could hear the sounds of cars, birds and music from some stereo nearby. A warm wind caressed his aching body, and somehow felt comforting to Ryoma. Now that he was a bit calmer, he realized what a relief it was. Fuji knew now. He wouldn't have to hide it anymore. And even though the fact that Fuji didn't return his emotions was painful and humiliating enough to make Ryoma want to vomit, it was better this way. Now, Ryoma had a better chance of getting over Fuji.

But it would take time, Ryoma was well aware of that. As he walked into his hallway, still feeling a bit shocked and numb from the evenings events, his mother came to greet him.

"Ryoma? Why are you home already?"

"... Momo got sick on the way and had to go home", Ryoma replied after a moment. The woman sighed and gave Ryoma a look of pity.

"Oh, what a shame. Oh well, you can always go to the cinema another time."

"Yeah."

Ryoma didn't want to talk anymore. He just wanted to sleep. At the moment, everything sucked. Everything was ugly and painful. He should've understood that Fuji had gotten it all wrong. No one is that cool when you realize another guy had a crush on you, not even oh-so awesome Fuji Syuusuke! Ryoma should've known.

He took his clothes off with more force than necessary and almost ripped the white shirt. He threw them on the chair and crawled into bed, even though it was only seven thirty. He was tired. He wanted to sleep. But one thought kept bothering him.

He would have to face Fuji the next day at school.

Fuck.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sorry for taking so long. You know me. I'm a busy lady.

I hope you liked this chapter, I know I did.

Please REVIEW. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.


	4. Chapter 4

I disclaim Prince of Tennis. It's not my property.

I own the plot of this fic, and any characer that may appear that's not from the original manga.

Warnings: Yaoi (japanese concept for men having sex). Slight angst and ooc-ness. That's about it.

A/n: Now that I have your attention, I would like to make something clear. This has been annoying me for quite some time. In the world of Boys Love manga, there are two genres - Shounen-ai and Yaoi. A lot of people seem to believe that these two are the same, but they're not. Shounen-ai is a generally innocent genre, where they never go further than kissing, and possibly slight touching, but those scenes are usually censored. In some shounen-ai mangas, they don't kiss or touch each other at all, but the message that the boys like each other comes through, usually from giving each other shy glances or such. A good example of shounen-ai is Gakuen Heaven.

Yaoi, on the hand, is a much more graphic version of Shounen-ai, where they have, or at least think about having sex, even though those scenes sometimes are slightly censored. "Papa to kiss in the dark" and "Close the last door" are pretty good examples, even though none of them are very graphic. There are other, much more graphic yaoi series out there, but I won't tell you about them, cuz I'm not going to be responsible for screwing with young people's innocent minds.(lol!! – Ender, the beta) (Then again, this _is_ an M-rated fic...)

Got it? Shounen-ai is K-rated, while yaoi is T-and M-rated.

Now, let's (finally) begin!

Chapter four.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ryoma groaned as the sun hurt his already stinging eyes. It had taken him several hours to fall asleep, even though he went to bed so early last night. After very few hours of proper sleep, he now had to go to school, where he would definitely, sooner or later, meet Fuji. The boy he had unwillingly confessed to, after Fuji had misunderstood everything and tried to make Ryoma date Sakuno. _God_, Ryoma blushed at the mere memory. And the way he had told him! He had basically screamed out his affection to Fuji.

Maybe he should skip school. That way, he wouldn't have to deal with the humiliation of seeing Fuji. But if he didn't come to school, it would be as if he was running away, which he totally wasn't!

But he really, really did not want to see Fuji! And today was Friday, which meant that he had tennis practice for two whole hours after school. Next week they were going to play against the Senzu academy. He really shouldn't skip. Tezuka would kill him. Or possibly make him run countless laps around the court.

"Ryoma!" His mother knocked on the door. Ryoma sat up, feeling dizzy and a bit queasy from the lack of sleep.

"What?" He shouted back and got up from bed, scratching his head absentmindedly.

"You're going to be late again. It's already seven thirty! Would you like me to give you a ride?"

Ryoma sighed and glanced at himself in the mirror. He looked tired, pale and his face seemed a bit puffy.

"...Yeah. I'll be right down. Thanks."

He could hear his mother walk away, and when he was certain she couldn't hear him, he groaned deeply and brought his fists to his head, where he gripped his hair and pulled until it hurt. This was all so screwed up!

"Fuck this..." he whispered and pulled on his school uniform with angry motions. He grabbed his bag, ran to the bathroom, washed his face and ran downstairs where his mother waited for him with a sandwich. With a small, tired smile, he took it and put it in his mouth before crouching to put on his shoes. When he was ready, he followed his mother out to the yard where their car awaited. He chewed frequently on the sandwich, even though he didn't taste anything. His mouth felt dry.

As they went down the streets, Ryoma stared out the window, sighing occasionally. Everything was so gray. Was it always this gray?

"Ryoma?" He gave a small flinch and turned to his mother who was watching him with a concerned frown. "Are you okay?"

"Watch the road, Mom", Ryoma said, and waited a few seconds before speaking again. "Yeah. I'm fine."

He wasn't fine. His heart ached more than after a hundred laps around the tennis courts. As soon as Fuji's face came into his mind, he had to shut his eyes and force himself not to think about the older boy. And it was so hard. It was hard not to think about him; not to think about what could've been if the evening had played out the way Ryoma had hoped. Hard not to start crying right there in the fucking car - he would be damned if his mother ever saw him crying. He stopped crying in front of others when he was four.

His mother didn't say anything more, but Ryoma could feel that she was still concerned about him. He didn't want to look at her. Because the woman was so damn good at reading him.

"Have a nice day, dear", she said as Ryoma stepped out of the car, avoiding her gaze. He nodded silently and started walking away from the vehicle. His mother didn't drive away for another ten seconds or so, as if the woman wanted to make sure Ryoma wouldn't faint on his way to the school building. Ryoma glared at the school, as if it was it's fault. The building looked uglier than normal, and it was with dread that Ryoma entered the school yard to jog to the door that would lead him to the freshmen's corridors. No Fuji in sight. Ryoma didn't know if he was relieved or just really, really sad. The pain in his chest didn't go away.

As Ryoma walked up to the lockers, he noticed Ryuuzaki-san talking to some other girls. She didn't look happy, but obviously tried to hide her sadness behind a big smile. As if Ryoma wasn't in enough pain, ache was added to his chest as he thought about how he must've hurt the poor girl the other night. He should apologize. Even though it certainly wasn't his fault. _Damn Fuji._

"Oi, Ryoma!" Horio shouted, revealing Ryoma's presence to the entire floor and threw an arm around Ryoma's stiff shoulder. Ryuuzaki-san turned around at the sound and gave Ryoma a wide-eyed look. Then she turned away and hurriedly ran into the classroom. Ryoma mentally groaned. Why couldn't just things go his way? He glared at Horio, who looked innocently confused. "What?"

"Let go of me", Ryoma muttered and put his shoes on the shelf. Horio did as he was told, but didn't seem to mind Ryoma's grumpy mood. This was, after all, how Ryoma usually behaved. The annoying brown haired boy started talking about how he was complimented for his tennis skills by some woman who worked for a tennis magazine. Ryoma couldn't care less.

"Class is starting", Ryoma said and walked into the room with the still chattering Horio behind him. Ryuuzaki-san, who usually was the first one to greet him, was staring out of the window with stiff shoulders. Ryoma sighed and decided that this wasn't the best time to apologize to her, so he sat down by his desk and took out his pen and his note book. So far, the day had sucked, and he doubted that it would get any better.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Ah. Finally! Lunch!" Horio exclaimed and started chomping on his beef. Ryoma looked at his classmate for a few seconds before lowering his gaze to his own food. It didn't look very edible to him. He wasn't hungry, although, his stomach tried to tell him otherwise by lurching and growling. Horio obviously noticed the noise. He gave Ryoma a confused frown.

"Aren't you gonna eat, Ryoma?" Ryoma scowled slightly and turned his face away.

"I'm not hungry", As if in protest, a big growl emitted from his tummy, causing a slight blush of embarrassment to appear on Ryoma's cheeks. Horio quirked an eyebrow and turned back to his own food.

"Yeah, obviously."

Ryoma sighed and shut everything out like he usually did whenever he needed to think, even though he really didn't _want_ to think right now. He hadn't seen Fuji all day, probably because Ryoma stayed inside at recess and refused to look out the window. The surface of his desk was safer. He was afraid of what he would do if he so much as caught a glimpse of Fuji. What would he do? Break down and cry? Start shouting about what an ass he was? Run away? Or possibly, try and beat him into a pulp for causing Ryoma such pain?

_If only... God damnit._ If only Fuji hadn't asked him out on that damn double date, he wouldn't have to feel like this. He could've tried to ignore it and simply force himself not to love... not to _like_ Fuji. Everything was ruined. He wouldn't be able to even speak to Fuji again, let alone look at the boy.

"What's the matter with you today?" Horio asked, after finishing his meal in two minutes. "You look so down, man. Do you have love troubles?" Horio sniggered and wiggled his eyebrows. Ryoma frowned at the other boy. Seriously, sometimes he wished Horio would just shut the hell up. The boy always said the wrong things and always did the wrong things and he was always so damn _loud_.

"No", Ryoma replied shortly and stood up. "I'm going back to homeroom. See you later." He grabbed his tray and turned away from Horio only to freeze all of his movements; a group of seniors walked into the room. Ryoma watched, as if the world faded into slow motion, as Fuji walked into the room, talking to some other boy that Ryoma didn't know. Swallowing, Ryoma turned away from the sight and tried to breathe normally as he went to leave the tray. The feeling of slow motion wouldn't go away. The panic started to rise. He needed to get out of there before Fuji saw him.

So, trying to jog to the table where the students were to leave the trays, Ryoma tried to constantly hide behind some other student to keep Fuji from seeing him. When he finally reached the table, left the tray and was about to exit the dining hall, almost crying in relief, it was all shattered.

"Oooi! Ryomaaa! Wait for me!" Horio shouted with all his might, causing almost every student in the room to turn their heads and look at Ryoma and Horio, who joined him with a stupid grin on his face. In utter horror, Ryoma watched, once again in slow motion, as Fuji turned his head to look at him. Ryoma was too shocked to turn away. Their eyes met, and during those few seconds of terror and panic and shame, Ryoma noticed something in Fuji's gaze. Those blue eyes were open and the look on Fuji's face was serious and...

FUCK.

Why was he still standing there?! Run, damnit! What the hell was he waiting for?

"Ryoma? Ryoma!"

Horio called after him as Ryoma dashed through the corridor to their homeroom. As he arrived at the homeroom door, he passed it and continued to walk until he reached the restrooms, where he locked himself in. With a dry sob, Ryoma put his hands in front of his face, as if to hide it's scrunched up state of despair, and slid down the wall. Everything was so fucked up. Everything was so ugly and everything hurt. It was as if he was trapped inside a nightmare. It was a nightmare of shame and fear. Why did it have to be like this?!

_The look on Fuji's face..!_ It had been so serious. Not exactly a loving face. Fuji had looked at him as if Ryoma was a child who had done something bad. Well, it wasn't his fucking fault! It was Fuji's fault for being too hot, damnit! Ryoma fisted his hair and pulled until it hurt. He needed to calm down, so on shaky legs, he stood up and glanced at himself in the mirror. He looked sad. His eyes weren't as energetic as they usually were and they were dull. He was pale. Traces of salty tears that had made small paths down Ryoma's cheeks were still visible. He wiped them away with an annoyed huff.

Class had probably already started and it was the last one. After that, he would have to go to tennis practice and meet his doom. Ryoma bit his lip. He had to skip practice. There was no other way. There was no way he could spend two hours with Fuji now. _Hell no._ He had to skip.

But... The match against Senzu was in just a few days! He couldn't skip! He was singles two, damnit! Then again, if Ryoma didn't show up for practice, Fuji would probably get his position. No harm done, right? But Ryoma really, really wanted to play! If he didn't show up for practice, what would everyone think of him - the Prince of Tennis? Ryoma snorted. That title fit Fuji better, that damn genius. Ryoma had never been able to beat Fuji in tennis. Then again, he had never played against him, either.

Ryoma finally left the restroom and went to class, where he ignored all the weird looks he received from the students and the small glare his teacher sent him. He just walked to his seat and sat down silently before casting a bored glance out the window. The tennis courts looked so inviting. He wanted to play. He wanted to practice and go to the match and win. But he didn't want to meet Fuji.

English class. Ryoma sighed. He didn't understand why he even had to take the damn classes. He had lived in America for several years. He was already fluent. How unnecessary.

"Echizen-kun?" The teacher said and read something from her book. "Please translate this Japanese sentence to English; 'Good evening, sir, it was lovely to meet you.'"

Suddenly, the darker side of Ryoma kicked in and he smirked. This was perfect. The perfect plan. If he got detention, he would miss practice for sure, but he would probably still be able to play next week. If he got detention, he had an excuse and he could even offer to practice on his own after school, when the others were gone. That would work, wouldn't it? Yes, it would. Then he wouldn't have to see Fuji.

Ryoma sighed and stood up in his desk and started speaking in English.

"Good evening, sir, it was lovely to fuck you."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ryoma bit his lip where he sat, outside the principle's office, waiting for his punishment. The look on his teacher's face had been pretty amusing, even though Ryoma still felt quite ashamed of his childish act. It would've worked though, Ryoma was sure, if not Ryuuzaki-san, the older, was there. She was determined not to let Ryoma skip practice it seemed, as she was now inside the office, audibly shouting and argumenting with the principle. Damnit. To mess up his perfect plan like that... Typical. Did Ryuuzaki-san really have that kind of power?

Ryoma took a calming breath and prayed to all the gods he knew, that Ryuuzaki-san wouldn't succeed. He did _not_ want to go to practice.

"Ryoma-kun", the door was opened and the elderly woman peeked out to give him a stern look. She walked out of the room and crossed her arms over her chest. "You should feel lucky, my womanly charm still hasn't gone away."

Ryoma paled and stood up.

"What?"

The old woman winked at him and patted his shoulder.

"You won't serve detention until next week. I told the principle that you have a very important match next week."

Ryoma felt as if someone had heaved a bucket of cold water over him. So... He had just earned himself a detention for nothing?

"But I...!" Ryoma exclaimed and turned his face away to hide his blush. "I can... I mean, why not now? I want to have it over and done with."

The woman was quiet for a second as Ryoma kept focusing on the floor.

"But, Ryoma...you have to practice this afternoon. I thought you'd be happy that I got you out of that tight situation. Unless..." She bent down and stared at Ryoma, who refused to meet her gaze. "There is a reason for your sudden reluctance of going to tennis practice?"

Ryoma gave a quick smile and shook his head.

"What are you...? I don't... I..." He sighed and pulled his cap lower over his eyes. "I'll go to practice. Thanks, coach. I have to go. I'm already late."

"I'll walk you there."

Ryoma cursed mentally. There goes Plan B - run home before anyone sees you.

They walked, in silence, to Ryoma's locker, where he got his bag and tennis racquet. He walked with unusually slow steps and kept ignoring the pointed glances he received from his coach. Dread rose in his chest as the tennis courts came into vision. He could see Fuji running around in there, chasing balls that someone threw at him. He was sweating in the warm weather, just like that time a couple of weeks ago. Ryoma stopped to stare at him in awe for a second, but quickly turned away when Fuji looked his direction. He ran to the locker room, which was thankfully empty.

While getting dressed, he actually had to bite his lip, not to groan in frustration. It had finally come to this! _God damnit._ Now he would have to face Fuji sooner or later. There was no doubt. The mere thought made him want to run home and scream for an extremely long time. Slowly, nervously he pulled his clothes on and gripped the racquet. Now he just had to open the door and walk out to the courts. No problem. Right? Ryoma stared at the door knob. He just had to grab it and open the damn piece of wood.

Just as he reached out his hand, someone else opened the door and walked in. Ryoma could feel how his eyes widened, until it felt like they would fall out of their sockets.

"Ryoma," Fuji said quietly and walked into the room, never breaking eye contact with Ryoma. Ryoma stepped backwards unknowingly, allowing Fuji to enter the room. "I've... I've been looking for you."

Ryoma snapped back to reality and swallowed before turning his burning face to the floor.

"Yeah, well... I've been in my classroom all day. Maybe it didn't cross your mind to search for me there." He replied as coldly as he could. His voice was shaky. Fuji didn't say anything for a moment.

"I suppose not." His voice was soft and somewhat hesitant. "Look, Ryoma... About yesterday-"

"I need to get to the courts," Ryoma interrupted, feeling the panic rise again. He needed to get out of there! He didn't want to talk about the previous night, damnit! Ryoma walked past Fuji, feeling his heart pounding at the very scent of the older boy, and gripped the door knob.

"Ryoma, stop," Fuji said, grasping Ryoma's arm, just like he had done before. Ryoma glared angrily at Fuji over his shoulder and tore himself loose. Fuji stared at him, looking slightly annoyed.

"What do you want?" Ryoma said, sounding angrier than necessary. As usual, panic and fear caused an angry reaction within Ryoma. He couldn't help it.

"I want to talk to you!" Fuji exclaimed. "About what you said yesterday-"

"I don't want to talk!" Ryoma snarled and turned around to leave the room, but a hand on his arm stopped him once more.

"Well, you know what? This isn't just about you!" Fuji said. Ryoma stilled at the noticeable anger in his voice and turned to stare at the usually calm senior who was now frowning at him, blue eyes open wide. Careful not to loose himself in them, Ryoma cleared his throat and turned his face away again, not even bothering to cover his blush. Fuji already knew how he felt anyway. He knew and was probably disgusted. Hell, even Ryoma himself was a little disgusted.

"Then talk," Ryoma sighed, drained from anger. He stared emotionlessly into the wall on his right. "Not that there is much to say." Fuji's hand left his arm and Ryoma could hear how he sighed.

"Yesterday...did not go well, did it?"

Ryoma scoffed and smiled with disgusted amusement.

"You could say that again."

"Right. I'm really sorry. I honestly thought you were in love with Sakuno. The way she acted around you and the way you acted back... I just thought you were two kids in love, you know?"

_Two kids in love?_

Ryoma glared at Fuji who immediately realized his mistake.

"Not that you're a kid or anything! Sorry... I'm just saying the wrong things here..." Fuji said and scratched his head. Ryoma moved his gaze to the floor, waiting for the senior to go on. "The thing is, I mean, it never even crossed my mind, the possibility of you being in love with me-"

"I'm not _in love_!" Ryoma exclaimed, glared at the floor and sighed. "I just... really like you", he muttered, trying to ignore the fact that he was more or less confessing a second time. And now Fuji wanted to _talk_ about it? What the hell? Fuji was, again, silenced for a moment.

"Yeah, well... Uh, I... I was shocked. Since I hadn't even considered that you could feel like that for me and-"

"Is this supposed to comfort me or something?" Ryoma suddenly asked and gave Fuji an irritated look. "Look, you don't have to feel bad about this. You haven't done anything wrong... except for jumping to conclusions way too fast", he muttered. "I started to like you... Like _this_. More than as a friend. It just happened. I don't know why or when. But if you could just... like, leave me alone for a while, that would be good." Ryoma gave Fuji a serious look. "I don't stand a chance of getting over you if you keep talking to me. I can't even look at you without feeling like I'm..."

Ryoma gave an annoyed sigh as he didn't find the right words. He rubbed his tired eyes with his free hand.

"Just leave me alone, okay?" He turned around to leave again, but Fuji still wouldn't let him.

"That's not fair!" Fuji grabbed his arm again and pulled Ryoma away from the door, placing himself in front of it to prevent Ryoma from leaving. "Don't just decide what we're going to do on your own! You're the one who confessed to me. Don't just run away fromt his." Fuji had that slightly angry look on his face again. Ryoma gaped at him.

"Then...huh?" He replied, more than a little confused. "What? What are you saying?" Fuji gave a heavy sigh and turned his gaze to the floor just like Ryoma had done earlier.

"Look... I'm not saying I feel the same, because right now, I don't. But I... I don't know," Fuji said and met Ryoma's confused, and rather hurt gaze. "That's why I need your help."

"With what?" Ryoma said, the hurt making itself known as his heart started thrumming harder. He didn't understand what Fuji was getting at. If he feel that way about Ryoma, then…what?

"To figure out what I feel for you, exactly," Fuji said and took a step towards Ryoma who gave him a shocked look and backed away from the older boy. "I don't know what I feel, or if I'm even capable of liking another man. I've only ever dated girls up until now."

Ryoma swallowed and tried to ignore the pain in his chest. _What the hell?_ Did Fuji even realize how big of an ass he was at the moment?

"Figure it out yourself, idiot," Ryoma muttered angrily and made another try for the door, but Fuji got in the way.

"Ryoma, if I'm going to try and figure out what I feel for _you_, it would probably be a good idea if _you_ helped me."

Ryoma tsk-ed and glared at the boy again, before sighing in defeat. He was already in hell. Why not do as Fuji said? The older boy had more or less told him straight out that he didn't like Ryoma back; that still hurt.

"Fine," Ryoma sighed. "What did you have in mind?" Fuji smiled smugly, eyes returning to their normal slitted-state.

"Well... I was thinking... Another date? Are you free tonight?"

"You have got to be kidding." Ryoma groaned and leaned against the wall. "Yesterday was just... really weird and I have barely gotten any sleep at all because of you..."

"I know," Fuji said and leaned against the wall next to Ryoma. "And I'm sorry. I know I'm being a jerk right now."

Ryoma snorted in agreement.

"But I..." Fuji continued and almost seemed annoyed. "I get this feeling around you. Like... It's not impossible. Yesterday, when I realized that I was the one you liked, I was shocked, yes, but I wasn't sad or angry or repulsed or anything like that. Just really... _really_ surprised, you know?" Ryoma nodded grumpily, still blushing away. Fuji sighed and put the back of his head against the cool stone wall. "That's why I want to give it a try. Cuz, if it's not impossible, then it is, in fact, possible."

Ryoma nodded and gave Fuji a weak smile. Fuji smiled back. Ryoma was still hurting though. This wasn't what he would've liked to hear. Fuji didn't return his feelings. And the fact that Fuji hadn't even considered it actually hurt him more than he liked to admit. And now the older boy wanted another date, just to see and figure out if, maybe, he could feel something for Ryoma? It was pretty selfish. But Ryoma couldn't say no, even though he would've liked to punch Fuji for his daftness and insensitivity.

"You're really weird, you know that?" Ryoma said and slid down the wall. Fuji gave a laugh and slid down as well.

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

They sat in silence the next three minutes before Ryoma finally got up. Suddenly, he didn't want to be alone with Fuji anymore. It felt too weird.

"I have to go. Tezuka's probably really pissed with me by now." Fuji shook his head and got up as well.

"Nah, he's still sick. If this goes on, I'll have to take over his playing position next week," Fuji said, and Ryoma sniggered as he heard the innocent tone of his voice.

"Right. And that would be such a chore, wouldn't it?"

Fuji gave him an amused look and shook his head.

"Fine, I admit it; I would really like to play next week. Even though Tezuka is our respected captain, I kinda wish he'd stay sick this one time."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed then," Ryoma murmured with a slight smile and adjusted the strings on his racquet before stalking towards the court closest to them. "See you later."

"Wait," Fuji's hand on his shoulder stopped him, once more, and Ryoma turned around to look at him. The senpai smiled teasingly. "I'll pick you up at seven." Ryoma's heart gave a painful thump and he stared at his senpai for a few seconds, before nodding numbly. Fuji smirked and walked out. Ryoma stared after him and felt how his weak smile faltered. If Fuji wasn't already sure, and actually needed _another date_ to figure out what he felt for him, this wasn't such a good idea, was it?

_To be continued._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

(yaaawn) Oh Christ... I want to sleep. Aaanyway! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, please _review_. If you didn't, please _review_. I want to know what you thought of it. Okay? I'm sorry if this chapter sucked, but I've had very little time to work on it, because I'm going to London tomorrow, so lately I've barely had time for anything but packing, planning and sleeping. Gomen gomen.


	5. Chapter 5

I disclaim Prince of Tennis

I disclaim Prince of Tennis.

I own the plot of this fic and any character that might appear that's not from the manga/anime. If you steal this from me it's a crime, and I have the right to report you. Thus, your account will get erased.

Warnings: same as in the previous chapters.

A/N: Sorry for the wait. I just went back to school, and it's my final year of high school. Being a senior isn't easy. Also, I just started working on a new Naruto-fic, called "Half My Heart". So I'm pretty busy these days. Gomen ne?

Chapter five. (This chapter is pretty short, but that's because chapter six will be a long one. Also, fyi, chapter six will be written from Fuji's point of view.)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Yep, this was definitely weird. Really, really weird, Ryoma thought as he stared at himself in the mirror. A second date. It should've felt more exciting than this, right? A second date usually meant that the feelings were deepening. He should've been thrilled! But in this case, it was merely a chance for Fuji to see if he felt anything. Anything at all. And what if he didn't? Would he tell Ryoma? How would he feel if that were the case?

Actually, it wasn't a second date. Their previous date could hardly even be called a 'date'. That one was just a big mistake and misunderstanding that ended in disaster. All thanks to Fuji, that idiot. Still... No matter how big of an idiot Fuji was, Ryoma's heart fluttered at the mere thought of the older boy. He couldn't help it.

And here he was, picking out clothes, yet again. Just as panicked as he had been the first time. He wore the same jeans as the last time; the black, tight pair. The shirt he had worn was in the laundry, so Ryoma decided on a loose-fitting, elbow-sleeved, gray shirt. To this, he added the same scarf as before, and he even gave his hair a fair try. It failed though. His hair was, and would always be, messy. It was probably better this way. Even though his feelings had been declared, he still didn't want to show up looking like some pop-idol. That would probably be totally lame. This was enough. Fuji already knew how he felt, so there was no need to dress up too much.

He brushed his teeth and washed his face in the bathroom. Ryoma glanced at his father's cologne, wondering if he should use some, but decided against it. It felt silly to use something that a thirty-five year old man had bought, when Ryoma himself was only thirteen. And Ryoma knew for a fact that he didn't smell bad at the moment; he had just taken a shower.

Why did he think so much about his appearance and how he smelled and how his hair looked, anyway? It annoyed him. He never behaved like this before. And then there was that pleasant, nervous lump in the pit of his stomach that just wouldn't go away. And the slight tingling across his skin that made him feel like he was glowing where he stood. Excitement and nervousness, mixed together.

Ryoma glanced to his clock and swallowed. Fuji had said seven o'clock, hadn't he? Then... He would be there in less than fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes wasn't much, but it felt like fifteen hours to Ryoma, who had no idea how he should spend the next ten minutes of waiting. Should he check how much money he had with him, just in case? No... He had already done that, twice. Should he eat something? No, he just brushed his teeth.

In the end, Ryoma decided to pick out the shoes he was going to wear. He only owned three pairs, so it really wasn't a hard decision, and seeing as one of the pairs were wellies, he really only had two options. He had a pair of black tennis-shoes and a pair of white tennis-shoes. Damn it. He needed to buy new shoes.

The black ones went best with the rest of his outfit, so with a sigh, Ryoma started to put them on, when suddenly a knock was heard on the door. Before Ryoma could move, his mother showed up from nowhere after opening the door with a pleasant smile. Fuji smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Am I early?" He asked and gave Ryoma a glance. The younger shook his head while trying to hide his blush from his mother, who's gaze kept darting between her son and the handsome brunette outside their door.

"Mom, we're going to the movies", Ryoma said and walked past the woman, hoping she wouldn't ask anything.

"Oh? Has Momo recovered?" His mother asked, to Ryoma's dismay, and before Fuji could say something that revealed his untrue excuse, Ryoma cut in.

"Yes! Yes, he has, uh... It's a miracle!" Ryoma stammered, laughed nervously, and backed away from his mom, with his back approaching Fuji, who was waiting outside. "Uh, Fuji and I will meet up with them later. So... Uh... Bye!" Ryoma grabbed Fuji's arm and left the house.

"I want you back by ten, Ryoma!"

"Okay!"

After running out of their yard, Ryoma slowed down and tried to catch his breath. Fuji watched him with an amused smile.

"Let me guess; your mom doesn't know about your preferences?"

Ryoma glared at the ground. There it was again; Fuji's damn insensitivity. _'Your preferences'. _Probably without realizing it himself, with that sentence Fuji had already declared that he and Ryoma were different. He gave the older boy an annoyed glance.

"No, she doesn't. And I would prefer that it stayed like that. At least for a little while. I'm still pretty shocked myself." He started walking in silence. If Fuji wanted the silence to be broken, he would have to break it himself. Ryoma felt too pissed. This was definitely weird.

"Hmm?" Fuji smiled and quickly caught up to his date. "So you never knew you liked guys before?"

"Nope."

"I'm the first?"

"Yep."

Ryoma knew he wasn't much of a company. His curt answers seemed rather rude, even to him. But for some reason, Fuji's curiosity got on his nerves. What was he, some rare animal that Fuji wished to learn about? Fuji didn't act as if he was actually on a date with the boy he was currently interviewing. They walked in silence for a little while before Fuji broke it again.

"Why me?"

Ryoma glanced at him, but couldn't quite read Fuji's expression, since said boy's eyes were hidden beneath brown bangs. Fuji looked straight forward, and Ryoma realized that this time, Fuji actually wanted a proper answer. So Ryoma sighed and tucked his hands inside his pockets, not wanting to start fawning about how gorgeous Fuji was, or how cool he looked when he played tennis, even though that's what Ryoma thought.

"I don't know. It just happened."

"Heeh?"

Silence. Ryoma preferred it that way. At least for the moment; Fuji's questions made him feel slightly uncomfortable. Reading between the lines, they all sounded the same to him; 'How in the world can you be in love with another boy?' It was as if the concept was really confusing to Fuji. The prospect of falling in love with another guy just wasn't in there, was it? Ryoma snorted.

"So you've never been in love with a girl?"

Ryoma scowled and stopped, staring at the dark asphalt. Fuji stopped as well, cocking his head to the side, and Ryoma gave him an annoyed glare.

"You know what? If you're gonna keep asking me all these stupid questions, I'm going home." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Are we on a date, or did you just ask me out because you were curious?" Fuji gave a smile and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry. I've already explained to you why I asked you out, but I can't help but to ask questions... I've never dealt with this kind of thing before."

Ryoma sighed and started walking again, though, not feeling quite calm, yet.

"Why do you seem to believe it's so damn different?" He asked and glanced at Fuji. "You're getting love letters and confessions almost every day from girls. I'm a guy, but the only thing that's really different is the fact that I have a dick." He blushed at his own confident words, but when Fuji laughed, he felt a flutter in his heart.

"I guess you're right", Fuji said and nodded, seemingly to himself. "And you're not as talkative as most girls I've dated. And you have shorter hair. And the way you act is totally different from any girl I've known."

"Well, I _am_ a boy", Ryoma grumbled. "Liking you doesn't make me a girl, you know."

"Right... sorry."

They finally reached the cinema and Ryoma sighed with relief. Fuji was so utterly intelligent, but when it came down to touchy subjects like this, it seemed Fuji's brightness disappeared in the blink of an eye, and was replaced with daftness. Ryoma cast a glance at Fuji's back as he purchased the movie tickets and turned away with a small blush. Despite Fuji's clumsy way of handling the situation, he was still adorable. Damn it.

"You want popcorn or something?" Fuji asked and smiled at Ryoma, who was still blushing a little. Ryoma nodded and went to the candy booth.

"Can I get you boys anything?" The blonde cashier said and popped her chewing gum. "We're out of Ponta though." Ryoma sighed with disappointment.

"I'll have one medium popcorn and a coke. What about you, Ryoma?" Fuji said and started digging through his wallet in search of money. Ryoma glanced at him and turned back to the cashier, chewing softly on his lower lip.

"I'll have a small bag of popcorn and... uh..." He glanced at the refrigerator, trying to choose a drink for himself, but since his favorite - Ponta - was unavailable, he didn't know which one to get.

"We can share the coke, if you want", Fuji said innocently behind him. Ryoma stared at him for a second. Fuji was grinning and holding up his money. Share the coke? Usually, Ryoma would've hated sharing a soda with anyone, but if it was with Fuji...

"F-fine", Ryoma said. "Just a small popcorn, then." Fuji was about to pay when Ryoma stopped him. "I can pay for the popcorn myself."

"Nonsense", Fuji said and put the money firmly on the desk for the cashier to pick up. "I'm the one who asked you out, of course I'm paying!"

The cashier smiled secretively to them and took the money. Ryoma blushed again and turned his gaze to the ground. Stupid Fuji! When he did sweet things like that, Ryoma was instantly reduced to a shy, speechless girl. He wasn't sure Fuji understood what a big deal it was for Ryoma though, and that thought killed the happiness a little. Who knew, for Fuji, maybe this wasn't anymore special than going out with a friend. Ryoma sighed and grabbed his popcorn before following Fuji into the dark theater. The movie was about to begin.

It then struck Ryoma that he had no idea what the movie was about. For all he knew, Fuji could've bought them tickets for a horror movie, which Ryoma hated. Not that he would ever admit it, but he simply couldn't stand horror. The terrifying images would stick to his mind, and he would be depressed and extremely freaked out for weeks. Ryoma didn't think that Fuji would choose a scary movie for their date, but he still wanted to know. Therefore, Ryoma carefully nudged Fuji's elbow, which by the way was resting against the armrest on Ryoma's side. He blushed a little, and almost forgot what he wanted to ask when Fuji turned to him with a smile.

"Hm?" Fuji said, chewing away on his salty popcorn.

"I was just wondering... Uh, what are we watching?"

"I didn't tell you?" Ryoma shook his head no, and cocked his head to the side to show how curious he was. And, hopefully, by doing so, Fuji would think he was cute. Fuji gave a short laugh.

"Well, since you ran off the other day, Sakuno ran away, too. So Rika and I went to a café instead. We're watching what we were supposed to watch yesterday; "One Rose, One Love". It's supposed to be good, from what I've heard."

Ryoma nodded, swallowed and turned back to the screen. A romantic movie, then. Great. Awesome. Horrific.

It was romance for crying out loud! There were, presumably, lots of other couples in the theatre, and they would, without a doubt, make out during the romantic scenes, and Fuji and Ryoma would probably not be making out. It was going to be awkward. Ryoma would love to kiss Fuji and to have him kiss back, to caress each other and hold hands, but... That wasn't possible just yet. Maybe it would never be. Ryoma sighed at his miserable thoughts and put two puffs of popcorn in his mouth.

Music started playing and the screen lit up. The image of a young woman came up, and she was picking roses in her garden.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"So what'd you think?" Fuji said and narrowed his eyes as they entered the bright hallway. "I kinda liked it."

Ryoma nodded and smiled little, feeling pleased. He had liked it too. The movie had been about a woman who was growing special kinds of roses. Her family had died and she lived all alone in an apartment. She used the roof of the complex building as her garden. One day, she got a new neighbor and he loved flowers above all else. But the woman disliked him at first, because he was too arrogant. During the movie, the woman started liking the man more and more because he kept sending her flowers every morning.

One day, he told her that he might have to move away due to work, and that if she loved him and wished for him to stay, she would have to leave one of her roses outside his door the next morning. The final scenes were spent on the roof, in the middle of night, where the woman tried to find the biggest and prettiest rose to put on his doorstep. But when she finally found it, she didn't have the heart to cut it. It was too beautiful. So in the end, when the man opened his door he found her sitting on the doorstep, smiling, as he she held up a drawing of a rose.

It was a pretty dark, but very passionate plot, and Ryoma liked how complex it made love seem. It was good for people to realize that love is not only joy.

"I liked it a lot. Thanks."

They stepped out in the crisp air, and started walking back. They didn't say much. They talked a little about the movie and what they were going to do during the weekend. Other than that, their walk was spent in a comfortable, but cold silence. The date hadn't made things clear, Ryoma thought, and glanced at Fuji, who was staring at the ground as he walked. If anything, it had probably confused them both further. What would happen now? Had Fuji figured out how he felt?

Filled with calm dread, Ryoma saw his house come into view and silently thanked God. He didn't want to spend another awkward minute alone with Fuji. Fuji walked him to the gate where Ryoma gave a quick smile and a chaste hug, before opening the gate and made a move to go inside.

"Thanks for tonight", he said and turned away. His heart was thumping. He was thrilled to be home, although he was sad to part from Fuji, but at the same time, he was incredibly relieved.

"What, I don't get a goodnight kiss?" Fuji said jokingly, and Ryoma froze in his movement. He could hear that Fuji's smile was false, even though he wasn't looking. He turned to look at Fuji over his shoulder with a serious face. Fuji was grinning, with his eyes fashionably closed, hands in his pockets.

"Well, do you want one?" The question seemed to throw Fuji off a little, as the blue eyes opened and stared at Ryoma, obviously not knowing what to do. That was all Ryoma needed to understand. So the younger of the two gave a snort and a sad smile before turning his back on Fuji once more. "Didn't think so."

He walked to his door, feeling empty. It had indeed been a bad idea. It had given Ryoma the slightest taste of hope, but now it hurt enough for Ryoma to close his eyes in frustration as he grabbed the doorknob, opened the door, and went in.

If he had had the energy, or the will, to turn around once again, he would've caught the confused, semi-shocked frown Fuji displayed before the brunette took off with quick steps. But Ryoma didn't want to see anymore. Damn it all. Damn it all to hell.

Ryoma ignored his mother when she asked him if he had had a nice time. He ignored his father when he made a stupid remark on his fancy clothes. He slammed the door shut harder than necessary and took his clothes off, hands shaking in anger and shame.

Damn Fuji. It was his stupid idea! If Fuji really wanted to figure out how he felt, he should've thought of something better than a second date. Ryoma was already in love. He was very well aware of the fact that he had a crush and it was all wrong. Love was supposed to feel fluffy and happy and warm, but he only felt cold and angry and desperate. And he didn't want it anymore.

Fuji was such a prick! Why did he have to like him? And why did everyone think he was such a fucking genius? It took him long enough to figure out how Ryoma felt, but not only that - he actually thought it was a good idea to ask Ryoma out for a second date, just to see if maybe there was a slight possibility of mutual feelings. Insensitive asshole.

With a dry sob, Ryoma buried himself under his blankets and closed his eyes. They hadn't fought, and even though Fuji hadn't really done anything _cruel, _Ryoma was so angry he had to bite the corner of his pillow to keep himself from screaming. It was the way Fuji had acted. Like he wasn't out on a romantic date with a potential boyfriend, but rather a friend. He had even tried to make everything into a joke, including about the way he _knew _Ryoma felt about him!

Fuji was a stupid idiot. A daft dickhead. An imbecile who couldn't even figure out his emotions on his own. It would be better if Ryoma simply forgot about the idiotic brunette.

So why couldn't Ryoma stop thinking about him?

Even now, when he was in bed, it was as if his inner vision couldn't get enough of him. The way Fuji's arm had brushed against his own in the theatre, the way Fuji had laughed when Ryoma spilled half of his popcorn over the floor. The way Fuji smiled, his voice, his hair, his scent, his body...

Ah shit...

Ryoma sighed and buried his blushing face in his pillow, before letting his hand travel south, over his sensitive chest, brushing over a nipple. Ryoma shuddered, and the irritated frown he wore eased into a more desperate one, when the pleasure started taking over. He rubbed his hand over the lump in his underwear and could feel how the tingles spread over his abdomen when he did so. His body stiffened and a sudden urge to do something, to touch, to feel, started to take over.

Taking a shuddering breath, he let his hand slip under the fabric and tease the damp head. He was already hard. Ryoma knew he would be angry with himself later, but at the moment, he didn't care. He took a hold of it, and gave a soft moan when another wave of pleasure made his toes curl and his back arch. Spreading his legs a little, Ryoma started stroking, up and down, slowly at first. The speed quickened, as Ryoma started panting louder and harder. His hips started to cooperate and made weak, thrusting movements along with the hand that was tenderly stroking the hardened flesh.

Shame made his face red, as images came to his mind. Images he could never tell anyone about. Images that even scared him a little, because he had no idea...

Fuji touching him, Fuji holding him down on the bed, Fuji kissing him, licking him, biting him... Fuji's naked body against his own, Fuji's slick skin, sliding against Ryoma's. Fuji's member rubbing hard against his own, and Fuji's hand stroking them both. Fuji's hand traveling south. Fuji's hand touching...

Ryoma blinked in shock as he realized that his other hand had started working as well. At some point, Ryoma had rolled over to his back and started to caress his own chest while jerking off, but the hand that had pinched his nipples a little while ago, had somehow made its way down to Ryoma's balls, and it didn't seem like it was going to stop. Mouth hanging open, watery eyes... Ryoma didn't really want to, because it was so shameful, but he simply couldn't help himself. Biting his lip with nervousness, Ryoma closed his eyes and imagined that his hands were Fuji's hands.

The hand that was on his member started stroking again, after stopping momentarily. The other hand traveled further, and Ryoma kept his eyes firmly closed as his mouth went open and he let out a choked:

"Oh!" His trembling fingers touched the puckered skin, and Ryoma knew that that was a place you weren't supposed to touch. He had never touched himself there before. He hadn't even known that it was possible to feel such pleasure by doing so. But now, his fingers nudged slightly, and massaged, and teased. His penis was glistening, and a drop of precum made its way to Ryoma's hipbone. God, he felt good. He could barely even remember where the fuck he was.

And when his index finger finally became bolder than the other fingers and pushed inside, Ryoma's back arched off of the bed, cramping, flinching, as the boy desperately bit his lower lip to keep himself from moaning Fuji's name over and over. Ryoma couldn't see. Flashing white lights were in his vision, and for a few seconds, the only thing he could hear was his own frantic heartbeat, thumping loudly in his ears. He grunted as his orgasm filled his body with warmth and contentment.

After a few minutes of afterglow, Ryoma opened his eyes and stared at the roof. He closed them again, with a stiff expression, before he opened them a second time and got out of bed. Now he needed to get cleaned up. And probably change his sheets.

And everything was Fuji's fault.

tbc.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

a/n: Hope you liked it. Please review.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own Prince of tennis

I own the plot of this. Steal it and you shall see my wrath.

Warnings; same as in previous chapters.

Sorry for the wait. Again. You know the drill - I've been busy with school, blah blah. I'm here now, so quit whining. ;)

Chapter six. Fuji's p.o.v.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

He knew he'd made a mistake. He knew the very moment he asked Ryoma out again. He'd known when he saw the angry, hurt glance Ryoma gave him, before he finally accepted his offer, and went out with him. Maybe it would've been better if Ryoma had said no. No, not 'maybe'. It would've definitely been better if he'd declined.

Fuji was ashamed.

He had always been a genius, a friendly face, a boy who possessed more wisdom than most boys his age. Few knew about his identity as a player, or rather they chose to ignore it. Fuji was perfect in every way, wasn't he? So what if he was a bit of a player? He couldn't help the fact that girls fell helplessly for him all the time. What was he supposed to do, ditch them all? Wouldn't that be even more cruel? At least he gave them a fair chance, right?

That was his excuse. It was the excuse his friends and fan-girls made up for him. Fuji couldn't help that he was attractive.

Honestly though, Fuji enjoyed it. He'd always enjoyed the blushing faces of those girls when he said he'd go out with them. And more importantly, he enjoyed telling them that he didn't respond to their emotions afterwards. That was what made Fuji Syuusuke a cruel teenager. That was his sadistic trade.

He'd never be cold or cruel towards the girls when he told them 'sorry, but I don't feel the same way'. He'd usually add a 'You'll find an even better guy someday that can make you happy'. If it was because he hated seeing the girls cry, or if it simply was to maintain his good reputation, Fuji didn't know. All he knew was that he actually enjoyed toying a little with the girl, before he told her off.

That was why Fuji, at some times, hated himself fiercely. Though he'd never admit it.

Ryoma was different. Because, for some reason, Fuji didn't ask Ryoma out a second time just to play with him. And Fuji didn't know why, but after two days of not seeing his kouhai, Fuji still felt bad. He still regretted his actions. He knew that he'd hurt Ryoma. During their date, Fuji hadn't held Ryoma's hand, or looked deep into his eyes or any of that cheesy stuff that made most girls melt. Maybe he should have? Fuji had treated Ryoma like nothing but a friend. Sharing a coke was the closest thing Fuji had come to flirting. And the way Fuji had more or less made everything into a joke... Fuji himself knew what a bastard he was.

Still... Gah! He didn't know what to think anymore. What was that dull aching in his chest? Shame? Probably.

It would've been better to tell Ryoma right away that he was straight and that it wouldn't change. So why the hell did he ask Ryoma out? Doing that with girls was fine, for some reason, because they had a strange way of bouncing back, finding another boy to fawn over. Or maybe it simply was because Fuji was used to girls - he knew what to say and do. He knew how to treat them, to kiss them, to hold them. He even knew how to have sex with them.

Boys were different. Fuji had never been confessed to by a guy before, although he was aware of the shy glances some of the boys gave him during tennis practice. Love between two men wasn't exactly something that Fuji resented, and he had even told Ryoma that he wasn't disgusted by the thought of having a relationship with a boy. That was true. So why didn't it fit? Was it because Fuji simply was incapable of feeling attracted to a man? Or was it because...

"Syuu?" Eiji waved a hand in front of Fuji's face with an annoyed frown. "What's the matter with you, nya? You've been out of it the entire morning!" Eiji's face lit up and he gave a teasing smirk. "Having girl troubles?"

Fuji stared calmly at his best friend before he gave a smile of his own.

"Something like that."

Eiji laughed, took a seat on Fuji's desk since the teacher hadn't arrived just yet, and patted Fuji's head.

"Poor little Fuji-chan. The girls keep throwing themselves at you, and there is nothing you can do about it!" The cat-like boy giggled. "You should try becoming ugly. I hear it works."

Fuji snorted with amusement and turned his gaze to the empty school yard outside the window. Eiji didn't remove himself from Fuji's desk.

"Na, Fuji? You do know that you can talk to me, right? If you have any problems..."

Fuji turned back to Eiji with a smile. The cat-boy pursed his lips to his best friend and sighed.

"I don't feel trusted at all, maw..." He muttered and jumped down from the desk. He returned to his own desk and sat down with a grumpy face just as the teacher walked in and started class. Fuji gave Eiji an apologizing glance, even though said boy wasn't looking at him at the moment. Then he turned back to the window. Whatever the teacher said, he had either already read about, or he would be able to do it later. He was a genius after all. Fuji sighed.

Somewhere in his mind, Fuji was angry with Ryoma. If it hadn't been for him, Fuji wouldn't have to feel like this. Like he was the meanest, most insensitive guy in the world. As if everything was his fault. It wasn't. And yet, to some extent, it was. Ryoma didn't even want to go on a second date, but Fuji had insisted. Damn it. He really was an asshole.

It was true that he hadn't felt disgusted or angry when he had understood Ryoma's feelings towards him. He hadn't felt any of that, and that was why he thought that maybe, just maybe he could give it a shot. Maybe to make Ryoma happy. Maybe just to kill some time. Seriously, he should've known better. He should've known that a guy's heart can be just as a fragile as a girl's.

Ryoma had scolded him for thinking that boys' feelings were different from girls'. For thinking that it was different when a guy was in love. Fuji knew how to handle girls, so why was it so different with Ryoma? His heart didn't flutter when he thought of the younger tennis player, nor did he blush. But his chest still hurt, and there was a pressure of annoyance in his head. Something was off.

Fuji glanced at his watch. In less than forty minutes, he and Eiji would be allowed to leave class. To leave school for the rest of the day, because today, they were playing against Sensu. Those cocky bastards. Unfortunately for Fuji, Tezuka had recovered, so Fuji wouldn't be playing. He would be a stand-in, which was the only reason he was allowed to join them; just in case Tezuka, or anyone else for that matter, would get hurt.

Now Fuji felt even more annoyed. He was the damn tensai, for fuck's sake. Why wasn't he playing today? Singles three would even be enough for him, even though he was used to singles one or two. Singles two... Ryoma had that position today. His chest tightened for a second and Fuji grit his teeth. He hadn't seen Ryoma all weekend, much to his relief, but this morning he had actually avoided the thirteen year old on purpose. And he knew that Ryoma knew that. Things like that tend to become quite obvious when one turns around on his heels and walks the opposite direction after seeing the other coming through the corridor.

Ryoma would be angry with him. But then again, if it really was like Ryoma had said - that what he felt for Fuji was no different from the way girls felt - Ryoma would forgive him. Probably. Fuji smirked. All he usually had to do to make a girl forgive him was to smile warmly and wave. Someone had told him that his gaze was as cold as ice, but that his smiles could melt it. Well, he had had some practice. There was a time when Fuji couldn't smile.

"Fuji?" Eiji slammed his hand down on Fuji's desk with a mock-dangerous glare. "Didn't you hear me? We're going. It's already half past nine!"

Fuji blinked dumbfounded at him before smiling carelessly and gathering his books, while Eiji watched him with his arms crossed over his chest. They left their giggling classmates.

"Really, what's gotten into you? Are you pissed cuz you won't get to play?"

"Unless anyone gets hurt", Fuji reminded him with an evil glint in his eyes and sniggered. Only because it amused him to see the terrified look on Eiji's face. He still hadn't gotten used to Fuji's sadistic sense of humor. Not that Fuji wasn't a sadist, but he wasn't serious about wanting his teammates to get hurt. Not really. Well maybe, but just a little. Like... a sprained ankle or something.

"You demon!" Eiji exclaimed and took a step away from the sniggering brunette.

"Eiji, you think I'm serious?"

"Well, you never know when it comes to you!"

Fuji laughed and shook his head as they walked towards the bus that was parked outside the school. Oishi and Inui were already there, chatting happily with a serious looking Tezuka, while stuffing their bags into the storage space on the side of the bus. They waved to Fuji and Eiji as they approached. After a few minutes, Takashi and Kaido showed up as well. The only ones missing were Ryoma and Momo.

"Where do you suppose they are?" Takashi asked Inui, who adjusted his glasses and looked down at his papers before replying.

"I dunno."

"I heard the freshmen are having a test this morning. Maybe they wouldn't let Ryoma off so easy?" Oishi said and pursed his lips. He glanced to his watch. "But if we don't go soon, we'll be late."

Just as Fuji was about to offer to go find their only freshman player, Ryoma and Momo ran out of the school building, dragging their bags behind them. Momo looked as though he was yelling at Ryoma, who was yelling back with the same passion. As they got closer, the group could clearly hear their fierce fight.

"- yeah but if YOU hadn't-"

"Oh please! Don't blame this one on me, _freshman_!"

"But _you're_ the one who fell asleep, _senpai_!" Ryoma exclaimed angrily as he threw his bag into the bus.

"You were supposed to come and get me!" Momo yelled and stuffed his bag in there, too.

"I had a test! My teacher wouldn't let me go extra early to go wake you up, you lazy ASSHOLE!" Ryoma roared and walked into the bus without greeting the rest of the team, who stared after the angry teen. Momo followed him.

"You could've given me a call!"

"Okay, for one thing, cellphones aren't allowed in class, and second, I DON'T OWN A CELLPHONE!!"

The older teammates stared after them, gaping in shock (not Tezuka). They were used to Ryoma and Momo bickering, but to actually be screaming at each other? Momo was hotheaded, so they were used to him yelling at people. But Ryoma? For Ryoma to look that angry? That was unusual. Fuji gulped. Maybe Ryoma wouldn't forgive him so easily after all.

The rest of the team entered the bus and noticed that Ryoma had taken a seat in the back, while Momo was stubbornly sitting in the front. The air was thick enough to cut, so the team quickly took their seats without further discussion, and the bus started to roll. Fuji carefully turned around to look at Ryoma, who did not look back. The younger teen was looking out the window, seemingly in deep thought. He was still frowning with anger. For some reason, Fuji felt captivated by that angry face. It was unusual for Ryoma to display any emotions at all, so it was a rare sight.

When Ryoma suddenly seemed to sense that someone was watching him, he turned to look straight at Fuji, still with a scowling face. Fuji eyes flew open with surprise, but quickly decided to make the best of the situation; he smiled and waved.

Ryoma's face changed, but not for the better. Instead of smiling back, the anger disappeared from Ryoma's face and was replaced by the same cold, emotionless mask he usually wore. The younger teen turned away from Fuji again and continued to stare out the window. Fuji's hand had frozen in the air, and the blue eyes were open again. It hadn't worked. Ryoma was still pissed.

And Fuji's chest started to hurt even more.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Okay, you guys have about 45 minutes to warm up, go to the bathroom or whatever you feel is necessary", Ryuuzaki-sensei said and sighed. "And for the love of god, do not be late! You're first, Takashi, Inui."

The team nodded and started talking when their coach had walked away. Fuji was half-heartedly participating in a discussion about whether or not the Sensu academy was all bark and no bite. Eiji, Oishi and Momo were excitedly talking about it, but Fuji quickly lost interest and decided to look around instead. Being a tennis player, his instincts told him to check out the courts. Although, he wasn't playing today, Fuji remembered with an annoyed frown.

He still went to the courts and only sighed when the Sensu-girls giggled as he walked by. He was used to that sort of attention. Any minute now, some girl would give him a letter, filled with hearts and declarations of love, even though she hadn't ever seen him before. He snorted. Girls and love... They behaved like it was a sport, or a game. As if love was not to be taken seriously; if it doesn't work out, you can always find a new guy to pester.

When Fuji arrived at the courts, he stopped and stared for a few seconds. Ryoma was already there, checking the net out and gave a few trying bounces on the ground. He seems content, as he pulled his cap off and smiled before scratching the back of his head.

"You excited?" Fuji smiled as Ryoma jumped at the sound of his voice. The freshman turned around with an irritated face.

"Excited? I've done this before, you know."

Cheeky, huh? Fine, Fuji could also play this game.

"Well, isn't tennis something you usually look forward to? Especially when you get to play against someone you don't usually play against."

"Oh yeah", Ryoma gave a snort. "The guy you were talking about before. I'm playing against him, aren't I?"

Fuji froze. Holy fuck, he had completely forgotten about it. Ryoma was facing _that guy._ Suddenly, Fuji didn't feel like bickering anymore. For some reason, his whole being was filled with cold dread. He gave Ryoma a serious look.

"Don't take him lightly, or you'll regret it."

"Gee, thanks for the advice", Ryoma muttered and made a move to leave, but Fuji grasped his arm. Ryoma froze, but didn't turn around to look at his senpai. Fuji frowned.

"I'm serious. You don't know what he's like."

Ryoma glanced at him over his shoulder and Fuji felt slightly taken aback at the anger he saw there.

"Well, you know what? I'm used to dealing with assholes."

Fuji stared at the younger teen and slowly released him. The angry fight Ryoma had had with Momo a while ago... That anger wasn't really directed to Momo, was it? Ryoma was angry with Fuji. And for reasons Fuji couldn't quite figure out, he couldn't blame him.

"Just listen to me... People tell me that _I'm_ a sadist when I play, but this guy is something else. Whatever you do, do not mock him during the match."

Ryoma stared at Fuji, and Fuji saw the turmoil in those golden orbs. The younger took a step back.

"Whatever", he said quietly and turned his back on Fuji. Fuji stared at the boy as he walked away. Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was an overwhelming need to speak to him.

"Ryoma!" He called and felt the irritation rise as the younger teen didn't stop. "Ryoma, would you listen to me?" He still didn't stop. Actually, it seemed that Ryoma's steps started to speed up. Fuji grinded his teeth together. "Ryoma, for fuck's sake! I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I asked you out again, and I'm sorry that I don't feel the same way! I can't help that, can I?" A new wave of anger washed over him unexpectedly and Fuji had no idea why he felt so upset. He had no idea what he was doing. Or saying.

"I'm sorry I don't have the urge to kiss you! I'm sorry I don't feel like fucking you!" The words came out spitefully, filled with anger that Fuji was, and would be, unable to explain. "I'm sorry I'm not gay!"

He was still breathing shakily, angrily, when Ryoma abruptly turned around and started to walk back to him. His chest hurt badly. He couldn't see Ryoma's eyes. The cap was in the way. Fuji could feel the blood rush through his veins quicker than usual because the anger had released the pulsing adrenaline. All of this ceased to matter when a hand suddenly whipped Fuji across the cheek so hard he gasped out loud. Before Fuji had a chance to react, or to even speak to Ryoma, he was forced down by the collar of his shirt.

Ryoma's eyes were wild with rage and the tears that rested on the lids were purely out of anger. Fuji had never seen Ryoma that mad before.

"You're _fucking_ lucky no one was around to hear that."

Ryoma released his shirt and ran away, leaving behind a very shocked Fuji. His cheek hurt badly. He had been slapped before, but boys hit harder than girls. His knees nearly gave out when he started walking out of the court, and shock made him unable to think properly. What the _hell _did he say? Had he really said those things to Ryoma? Fuji put a hand over his mouth, as if the mouth had become a wild beast that Fuji was unable to control.

He had never, in his entire life, been that cruel to anyone. Ever.

And now the ache across his chest made it hard to breathe. He didn't deserve forgiveness this time. Ryoma was right - he was lucky no one heard him say those things. He was lucky that they had been alone at that court.

"Fuck", Fuji whispered and sat down on a bench. "I'm such an asshole."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It had gone well for Takashi and Inui. Momo just won his singles three match, and Eiji and Oishi were still playing on another court. Ryoma would be playing in ten minutes. Fuji should've felt happy about their success, but he felt too angry and too confused to do anything but sit still on the bench and stare at the ground.

He hadn't seen Ryoma since their last encounter. Ryoma was hiding from him, Fuji understood that much. Not out of fear, obviously, but... Fuji really was an asshole_. 'I'm sorry I don't feel like fucking you'_?

Who the _hell_ says something like that?! As if he actually had the right to hurt Ryoma further.

There was something else that bothered Fuji, too. He couldn't figure out what it was. It was like he was trying to remember something important, but because he was unable to remember, he was about to lose it.

He wasn't gay. Fuji should never have asked Ryoma out. He should've known it was impossible. _Impossible. _Fuji rather liked his own persona, the person he was today - a mysterious boy, a genius, a casanova... He wasn't gay. He had dated too many girls for that.

So why did he want to see Ryoma? Why was he so worried for Ryoma? Why had he felt so angry when Ryoma walked away? Like Fuji didn't matter to him anymore, even though it was obvious that Fuji did matter. Why did he always lose his cool when Ryoma was around? He was less cool, said the wrong things, acted like an airhead, and he got angry without a decent reason.

He wasn't gay. Impossible. _Gay_ meant boys wearing lipstick, tight clothes and they acted like girls. Although, Fuji had to admit, he had never met a gay person who was like that. Stereotypical much? Damnit.

"Fuji?" Eiji stood before him, sweaty and panting, and with a smile on his lips. "We won again."

"Congrats", said Fuji and gave a grin. "I knew you'd win."

"Oh?" Eiji said, took a seat next to Fuji and laughed. "So besides being a genius, you're also a psychic?"

"No", Fuji said and laughed. "I just happen to know my best friend, and I also happen to know he's quite a talented tennis player."

Eiji gave a content giggle and took a sip of water from his bottle. They didn't speak for a few seconds. But since Eiji was incapable of being silent for more than twenty seconds, the cat-boy soon spoke.

"Ne, Syuusuke? You've been acting weird lately."

Fuji blinked slowly and continued watching the ground.

"Have I?"

Fuji saw him nod in the corner of his eye.

"Are... Are you sure you don't wanna talk about it, nya?" Eiji said, and sounded a bit more serious than usual. "You've been quiet, distant... And your temper has been... weird."

Fuji gave Eiji a glance. His friend was watching him carefully. So... Eiji had noticed. Fuji sighed.

"I'm fine. I've been tired."

"Lack of sleep, huh?" Eiji said, and sounded like he didn't believe him. "Syuu, come on. I know you. Won't you tell me?"

"No."

"Do you have a crush on someone?"

The question was sudden, and caught Fuji off guard. Before he had the time to think, he turned to Eiji and gave an angry glare before he snarled, "Shut up!"

They both froze. Eiji looked hurt. His mouth wasn't smiling anymore, and Fuji's eyes were wide open. He hadn't meant that. He hadn't meant to get angry. What was the matter with him? He, if anyone, knew how to control his own emotions. After a few seconds of shocked silence, Eiji nodded, gave a shaky smile and stood up. Fuji stared at his back.

"Okay", Eiji said, obviously trying to sound as if nothing had happened, but Fuji clearly heard the hurt tone.

"Wait", Fuji said and gripped Eiji's shirt before he had the chance to walk away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"It's fine, Syuusuke", Eiji said and glanced over his shoulder. "It's actually kind of a relief to see you like this. Proves you're human after all. If you feel like telling me about it later, just give me a call."

And with that, Eiji walked away, leaving Fuji gaping behind him. If possible, Fuji felt like an even bigger asshole. What the hell was his problem? Sighing heavily, Fuji rubbed his face with his hands and glanced at the court in front of him between his fingers. His heart gave a slightly painful jump when he realized Ryoma was standing there. The younger teen was jumping on the ground, swinging his racquet, while waiting for his opponent to take his place. The match was about to start.

Fuji gulped and rose from his seat. Ryoma didn't look nervous. On the contrary, he looked excited. Angry, almost. Fuji hoped that despite their fight, Ryoma had listened to him. The opponent was-

"Yagami Souh against Echizen Ryoma", the judge said and another boy entered the court. Fuji gulped and walked closer to the court; many people gathering around the fence, and Fuji couldn't see properly. Souh was just as skinny as Fuji remembered, and he had dyed his long hair red. The small eyes were deep black and the mouth wasn't smiling. He reminded Fuji of a grumpy samurai or something.

Ryoma and Souh nodded to each other as a greeting. Ryoma served and the game started. Fuji was watching nervously, hoping that Ryoma wouldn't say or do anything to tick Souh off. Ryoma won the first game. And the second. Shit, Fuji thought as he saw the confident energy in Ryoma's eyes. Souh was getting annoyed, too. Fuji swallowed and bit his lip. He was acting weird, he knew, but he didn't care.

"Ryoma", he whispered. "Don't do anything bad-"

Fuji silenced when suddenly Ryoma's golden eyes met his own, as if the younger had actually heard him. Ryoma seemed just as surprised as Fuji felt as they stared at each other. Ryoma's eyes immediately became filled with anger, and the younger frowned before turning away again. Fuji stared at him, filled with dread. Ryoma started to smirk, and Fuji could feel how the worry came back full force.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

"You really are all bark and no bite, huh?" Ryoma said, sounding cockily amused as he let the ball bounce on the ground before picking it up and serving. Souh frowned and hit the ball back.

"Shut up."

"I was all excited, too... But this is boring."

Fuji closed his eyes.

"_Boring_?"

"Yeah. This is like playing against a freakin' kid. Is this really the best you've got?"

Fuck.

Fuji opened his eyes to see what he had been dreading. Souh's eyes were even blacker than before, and, almost in slow motion, he lifted his racquet and smacked the ball at Ryoma. It was no ordinary shot. Fuji could tell. He knew it was _that shot_. The ball was so hard and fast, he couldn't even see it as it flew over the net.

And then there was a loud thud and a cracking noise followed by another thud. Ryoma was on the ground, coughing, cradling his chest.

"Ryoma!" Ryuuzaki-sensei ran out to the coughing boy and sat down by his head. Fuji couldn't hear what they were saying. Tezuka joined them, as did Momo. Fuji was frozen for a few seconds, despite wanting to run over there. Finally, he gained control over his body and ran to the stairs, down to the court and out to the small crowd around Ryoma.

"... you okay?"

"What the hell happened?!"

"Ryoma? Can you hear me?"

Fuji pushed Momo to the side and grinded his teeth at the sight. Ryoma was leaning against Ryuuzaki, his face were screwed up in pain, as the pale hands were grasping desperately at his chest. The boy wasn't breathing normally - he was coughing and gasping and sucking in his breath. As if his lungs were out of order.

"Ryoma..." Fuji said weakly and took another step closer to the boy who had confessed his love to him a few days earlier. "You idiot..."

Ryoma's eyes suddenly flew open, and he sat up from the coach's lap and started coughing violently. Fuji wasn't surprised, but he still felt horrified when he saw the small trail of blood running from Ryoma's mouth. Fuji could feel how his chest tightened even more and how the panic rose. He could barely even hear the shouts in the background as the people around him started to panic as well.

"Call an ambulance!"

"He needs to get to a doctor!"

"Ryoma! Stay awake!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"He's stable, but he'll have to stay here for a few days", the doctor said and smiled. "That was quite an injury... From tennis, huh? Weird."

"What happened to him?" Oishi asked, frowning worriedly as they glanced at the sleeping boy through the window to the hospital room. Fuji was leaning against the wall, trying to look calm, but his open eyes might have ruined it.

"Although it's hard to believe, one of his ribs was broken and that almost punctured a lunge. That's why he was coughing up some blood. But it's not too serious, and he'll be completely fine in just a few weeks."

Fuji tried to relax, but his body obviously liked being tense. He grinded his teeth and threw another glance at Ryoma, who was sound asleep, as if he hadn't been coughing blood just a few hours ago. Fuji turned away from the window and let his brown bangs cover his face. He felt too upset to let anyone see him.

"Will anyone stay with him until his parents arrive?" The doctor asked and without even thinking about it, Fuji pushed off of the wall.

"I'll stay."

"Fuji..." Oishi said and bit his lip. "Are you sure? You seem pretty tired-"

"I'm the only one of us who did not play tennis today", Fuji argued and gave a quick smile. "I'll stay with him." _This is kind of my fault, anyways..._

The team finally agreed and left. Fuji turned back to stare at Ryoma's sleeping form through the glass, until he finally sighed and walked into the room, trying to stay as silent as possible. He tip-toed to the bed and tightened his jaw when he saw how pale Ryoma looked. That damn Souh... If Fuji ever met him again, he'd definitely punch him.

Fuji had met Souh for the first time when he was thirteen, and he had received similar treatment from him as Ryoma had. Although, Fuji didn't end up in a hospital. However, he had a nasty looking bruise on his chest for several weeks after their first and only match. Souh had lost, and as if he wanted to punish Fuji for being better, he had slammed the ball away with such force, Fuji could still remember how it felt to lose his breath completely for several seconds, and the panic it had given him.

"I tried to warn you, you baka." Fuji muttered and glared weakly at Ryoma's unconscious face before glancing at the parking lot through the window. Their bus was leaving, along with the team. Fuji sighed. "What am I doing here anyways? It's not like I had to stay. He's not even awake. It's not like I can apologize when he's unconcious..." He took a seat on a chair by the bed.

"He's always been like that, you know."

Fuji jumped and turned around, facing none other than Ryuuzaki-sensei.

"Sensei? What are you doing here?" He stood up to offer her the chair. She shook her head to the offer and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm the coach - I have to stay with him until his folks get here. It's my job to do it. You're just here for moral support," she sniggered and patted his shoulder. Fuji gave a semi-irritated pout.

"The hell...? I could've gone home too, then."

"You sure you wanna? You seem to care a lot about him."

"What?" Fuji frowned. "I don't care at all. I barely know him."

Ryuuzaki was silent for a little while. Fuji could feel her gaze trying to burn a hole in him, but he refused to look at her. He stubbornly kept his gaze low.

"This isn't like you, Syuusuke," she said finally, and Fuji stopped staring at Ryoma's hand. Instead his gaze stuck to the wall. "I know all about your smile. It's a mask you use, and nothing else. I'm glad to finally be able to see you without it, but you're still lying."

"What are you trying to say, sensei?" Fuji turned back to her, giving her his normal, calm smile and narrowed eyes. The elderly woman frowned.

"I've seen you around him, Fuji. You're almost acting like a big brother. To Eiji, you're a best friend, to Tezuka you're a support, but to Ryoma... You have a different persona."

"I'm telling you, I don't care that much about him," Fuji said, starting to feel annoyed. He already knew that he wasn't in love, so why did it seem like everyone was trying to convince him that he was? Ryoma was just another person who had fallen in love with Fuji. He was just like the girls - an annoyance that Fuji liked to play with.

"... Ryoma always tries so hard to seem older than he really is. Have you noticed?" Ryuuzaki said suddenly and smiled at the sleeping boy on the bed. Fuji was about to nod, but caught himself and turned his face away again instead. "He acts tougher than he is so that he can gain respect. He's short, and he's the youngest regular. And his father is an idiot."

"Hey, it's not my fault Ryoma's trying to show off. I tried to warn him about Souh," Fuji muttered and crossed his arms over his chest. Ryuuzaki gave a low snigger.

"See? You do care. You just won't admit it. You fear your true self. And, kid-o, that is something you're gonna have to deal with. Or else, you'll never find happiness." With one last pat on the shoulder, the old woman left the room to go and talk to a nurse outside the room.

Fuji refused to let it show, but inside him, a storm was raging. With an odd, furious feeling, he stared at Ryoma. It was as if Ryuuzaki's words had triggered something. Something he had subconsciously been trying to resist, but was now unable to repress. It all bubbled up to the surface, as Fuji desperately tried to keep focused.

He refused to let it be true. But the day's events kept replaying themselves in his head - Ryoma's apathetic expression on the bus, Ryoma's furious face when they fought on the court, Ryoma's pained face after the ball hit him in the chest. And Fuji also remembered his own reactions - his worry, and rage, his panic, his...

Sinking down on the chair again, Fuji crouched over and put his forehead on the cool mattress with a shaky sigh. His eyes were tightly shut, but he could still feel them starting to dampen. It was so messed up. It hurt to think about.

But that didn't change the fact that when Fuji finally glanced at Ryoma's face again, he blushed. Ah, the headache. The shock. The denial. The worry. They all hurt.

And everything was Ryoma's fault.

tbc.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Phew! I'm done with chapter six. So what'd you think? I know Fuji's extremely ooc, but think of it this way - we've never seen Fuji in love with another guy before, have we? So, technically, none of us really knows how he'd react if he was actually in this situation.

Please review.


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own Prince of Tennis.

I own the plot of this fic and any OC that's not from the original story.

Hi everybody - I'm back! I'm not dead (although I'm not far from it.) School is, as usual, a pain... The whole class is pretty pissed at our drama teacher, and a lot of my friends have had break-downs and stuff, due to the many intense rehearsals. I'm pretty exhausted myself and I was actually the first one to break down and shout at our teacher to stop screaming (since she was messing the whole scene up by screaming "look at the audience, the audience, Ciiah!!")... So yah. -_-'

I'm back, anywho. I still won't be able to update as often as I would like to, but... I missed the world of fanfiction too much to be able to stay away. :)

This chapter will, as the previous chapter, be written from Fuji's p.o.v. This is because I still think we need to learn more about why Fuji acts the way he does, and how he feels about the whole thing. Because we already know how Ryoma feels. I don't know how many more chapter will be written from Fuji p.o.v. but I don't think this'll be the last one. ^^ Hope you're cool with that.

I also suggest you skim through the previous chapters quickly, just so that you won't be all confused when reading this. ;) I've been away for a long time, after all. (Also, the previous chapter (ch 6) is my personal fav.)

Chapter 7.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Fuji was chewing nervously on the nail of his thumb as he tapped his pencil against his desk, throwing regular glances at his cell phone. Ryoma was still at the hospital, and apparently, he hadn't woken up yet. Yesterday had been a disaster. Fuji tsked as he remembered, for the tenth time that morning, the angry, hurt look on Ryoma's face. Knowing that it was Fuji's fault, it was even more painful. Ryoma had never been one to display emotions - except cockiness and annoyance - and seeing such a passionately furious look on the young features was... a rare sight. One that caused Fuji to flinch every time he thought back to it.

Fuji yawned and glared out the window. He'd stayed at the hospital until Ryoma's parents showed up and Fuji had been shooed out of the room. Ryuuzaki said she'd call him as soon as Ryoma woke up. Fuji wasn't really sure why she said she'd call him out of all people - what about the rest of the team? - but for some reason, Fuji was grateful for it.

"Syuu?" Someone whispered and Fuji tore his annoyed gaze away from the empty school yard. Eiji was eyeing him in a worried fashion. "Ne? You okay?"

"I'm fine," Fuji replied curtly, thereby, more or less confirming that he was _not_ fine, and he knew it.

"You worried about o-chibi?" Eiji asked, using his usual pet-name for Ryoma. Fuji gathered his energy to create a small smile.

"A little." He turned back to his books and tried to look busy, but he knew Eiji was still staring at him. Sooner or later, Fuji knew, his best friend would say something more. And he was right.

"This isn't like you, Syuusuke," Eiji whispered and threw a careful glance towards the teacher's desk before continuing. "I'm your best friend... I _know_ you. You're kind and compassionate, at least on the outside, and everyone thinks you're a saint. And frankly, most of the time, you are... when you're not a scary sadist. But really... You've known o-chibi for less than a year, and now you're a mess cause he's stuck at the hospital?"

"Oh, so you're not the slightest bit worried?" Fuji countered, feeling annoyed. Eiji actually glared back this time, which threw Fuji off a little.

"Of course I'm worried. He's my kouhai, and my teammate, but you... You've been staring at your cell phone since this morning and I can tell you haven't slept. It's not as if Ryoma's about to die..."

"What's your point, Eiji?" Fuji sighed and leaned against his hand, glaring at his fingers that were tapping against his desk.

"My point is," Eiji continued, glancing towards the teacher's desk again, "That this isn't like you. Did something happen yesterday?"

"I'm not allowed to worry about my friend?" Fuji murmured and refused to remove his glare from his dancing fingers. Eiji was silent for a few seconds and just as Fuji thought he'd won this one, he was proven wrong.

"Sure you are. but you wouldn't act this way if it was Momo in the hospital, or Inui...or even Tezuka."

"I'd worry about _you_," Fuji cast a serious stare Eiji's way and carefully observed the rare, serious expression on the usually so hyper teen.

"I'm your best friend. Of course you'd worry about me," Eiji said and added a teasing smile before slowly going serious again. "But Fuji, _Ryoma_? What exactly is he to you?"

Fuji's eyes widened slightly as the question threw him completely off. He hated Eiji sometimes, because Eiji was one of the few people who were even better than Fuji at hiding their true personalities. Behind the super-energetic smiles, glomps and jumps, Eiji's intellect and maturity were hiddin and those qualities always managed to see right through Fuji.

Fuji still didn't know what to say, but before he could even think of a proper answer, his cell phone emitted a melody, saving his ass. Fuji grabbed the phone with shaky fingers and put it to his ear.

"Hello?"

Their teacher gave him an annoyed glance and Fuji replied with an apologetic one before going out of the classroom.

"Fuji?" It was Ryuuzaki-sensei and Fuji grip tightened around the phone.

"How is he?" If Fuji had not been so stirred up by Eiji's question, he might've noticed his own worried tone.

"He just woke up," the elderly tennis coach said, sounding content. "And he seems to be fine, despite the pain. They're examining him right now."

"I'll be there in a few minutes," Fuji croaked out, feeling relieved. Not only was this a great opportunity to get away from Eiji, who once more had proven to be wiser than friggin' Gandalf, but... Fuji had worried about Ryoma all night. And for what?

"Huh? You can't leave school yet, you've classes, don't you? I just called you to let you know he's fine," Ryuuzaki said, sounding both teasing and annoyed. "Really, Fuji. It's not like he was going to die. We all knew that. His body was just too exhausted to wake up. Considering how many minutes he went without being able to breathe, that's no wonder. The sleep was good for him. Why are you so worried?"

"It's not like I was..." He started, but stopped himself. _Why do I sound so upset?_ "...Worried", Fuji ended the sentence in a calmer tone, sighing with frustration at how weird he was behaving. "Look, my lunch break starts in less than ten minutes. It'll take me five minutes to walk to the hospital, so I'll be there soon, ok?"

"Why?" Ryuuzaki sounded somewhat surprised. "I already told you he's fine. You'll see him once he gets back to school. Which will probably be tomorrow."

"I know, it's just..." Fuji closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. Why _did_ he want to see him, anyways? "I need to see him, cause... I think... Well, we had this big fight yesterday and I just wanna make things right. Especially now when he's hurt and everything." This was a half-truth. Fuji did actually still feel awful for the things he'd said to Ryoma, but that wasn't the whole reason why he wanted to see the younger tennis player. The problem was, Fuji himself wasn't sure why it was so important to him. Something was messing with his head.

"... I see," the old woman said, not sounding entirely convinced. "Well, it's your lunch break, you can do whatever you want with it."

"Great, I'll see you soon."

"Bye."

Fuji ran down the stairs, listening to his heartbeat thumping in his ears. What was this? What was this feeling? This weird, alien feeling? Sure, there was relief...and shame. And...something else? Anger? No. Something that made him grit his teeth and the adrenaline rush through his veins. Was he angry? Or was the feeling something that simply resembled anger? Fuji didn't know and it scared him. He always knew. Always. Except when it came to Ryoma. That damn little brat that Fuji wanted to punch for not taking his advice about Souh!

Fuji slowed down until he finally stood still, right in front of the entrance. He stared at the dusty floor.

"What am I doing?" He muttered to himself and raked a hand through his unusually messy hair before throwing a glance at his watch. He still had plenty of time. But that wasn't the issue. Fuji could manage without lunch - the question was _why_ he insisted on giving up his lunch break just to go visit Ryoma, who he knew would be back in school the very next day. He couldn't even wait one day? Fuji's eyes opened a fraction and anyone who looked might've caught a glimpse of brilliant blue, before Fuji's eyes returned to their normal, squinted state.

He shook his head and started walking again, faster than normal. He was starting to feel stressed. Why did it feel so important to see Ryoma anyways? To talk to him, to make sure he was alright. Ryoma might still be angry with him. Fuji snorted and frowned a little as his legs started walking a notch faster. Fuji had tried to warn him, so it wasn't as if Fuji was to blame. At least not entirely. However...

_"I'm sorry I don't feel like fucking you!"_

Fuji winced as he recalled his own spiteful words. Again he asked himself, who the hell says something like that to someone who unwillingly confessed to you just days before? To someone you already hurt more than once?

Fuji wasn't so sure he wanted to see Ryoma anymore, but as he reached this conclusion, he was already standing in front of the hospital. He swallowed and walked past the cars that were parked outside. Inside the hospital, the air felt much cooler and Fuji enjoyed it, since he was sweating a little from the quite rapid speed he had been holding.

"Fuji!" Ryuuzaki called out and waved to him as he approached Ryoma's room. The elderly coach put her hands on her sides and smirked to him. "Couldn't stay away from him after all, could you? Seriously, you are just like an overly worried older brother."

"Hah... A brother, huh?"

Truthfully, Fuji was a lousy older brother. Ask anyone. Ask his younger brother, for example.

"I don't know about that," Fuji gave a polite smile. "Can I see him?"

The woman nodded and cast a glance to the closed door.

"He's talking to one of the nurses right now, but I think you can go in. I have to get back to school. See you later, kiddo!" And with that, she left Fuji with a grin and wave. Fuji waved back to her, wearing his usual, calm smile. That smile was quickly wiped off as he turned back to the door and stared at the knob. He could hear faint mumbles from inside. Swallowing his nervousness, he grabbed the doorknob, turned it around and the click that came from the door made him flinch a little, as if he had just made a bomb go off. Here it goes...

"Excuse me for intruding..." Fuji said meekly and gave two weak knocks before swinging the door open so that he could enter. The first thing he noticed was the nurse that turned to greet him with a friendly smile. Fuji smiled back to her. The second thing he noticed was the young boy with cold eyes and messy hair, sitting on the hospital bed.

The third thing Fuji noticed - and this was the one that actually made it hard to breathe - the third thing Fuji noticed was the purple and blue, fist-sized bruise, just below Ryoma's left nipple. Fuji's eyes wouldn't avert, even though Fuji mentally begged them to look away. It certainly looked painful.

"Remember to take it easy for the next few days, ne, Echizen-kun? I'll give you some painkillers, so don't go anywhere. I'll be back in a few minutes," The nurse said and handed Ryoma his shirt. Ryoma nodded grumpily and started putting his shirt on. The nurse left the room with a final smile, probably thinking that Fuji was a close friend to Ryoma and that they wanted some privacy to catch up.

Ryoma didn't say anything, and stubbornly ignored Fuji's presence as he was trying to put the stubborn shirt on. He wouldn't even look at Fuji as he struggled to get the piece of clothing on, which apparently was complicated, as Ryoma couldn't lift his left arm properly.

"Hey," Fuji finally greeted, immediately realizing how lame it sounded. "How are you doing?"

Ryoma's pale body was bathing in sunshine and although the proud freshman would neither bestow Fuji a proper reply, nor look at him, Ryoma was finally forced to answer. The air was filled with tense, awkward thickness.

"How does it look like I'm doing?" Ryoma muttered out and gave a hiss as his third attempt to put the shirt on failed. "Why are you here anyways?" Ryoma's face was cold, drained, and it actually hurt a little when the golden orbs hit Fuji, practically forcing him to open his own blue eyes and glare back.

"I was worried about you."

"... Wow, I'm moved to tears," Ryoma said, sounding just as bored and uncaring as ever, and for some reason, this ticked Fuji off. "I'll come to school tomorrow, tho-"

"Why didn't you take my advice?" Fuji ground out, feeling another annoyed sting as Ryoma turned his pale, flawless face back to him. The shoulders slumped a little as Ryoma released a heavy sigh.

"Your advice?" Ryoma sounded mock-confused, as if he had no idea what so ever what Fuji was referring to, although he obviously did.

"Don't give me that," Fuji grit out. "I _told_ you not to tick Souh off, and yet you-"

"I was pissed, okay?" Ryoma turned back to face him and Fuji's already open eyes widened a little at the anger he saw in the usually emotionless face. "I'm _sorry_," he spat. "Is that better? I'm only human. Maybe I didn't feel like taking your advice, specifically because it was _your_ advice." Ryoma's face took on a new, strangely empty yet incredibly emotion filled expression. "I was angry. And frankly, I don't get why you're here. I don't understand you. I don't understand myself. I don't want to see you." The black bangs covered his eyes now, hid the yet to be demonstrated feelings.

"You want me to leave?" Fuji felt cold. His chest hurt a little - as if someone was constantly punching his ribs. Ryoma was silent for a few seconds before nodding.

"Yeah... Go."

There was something in Ryoma's quiet, tense tone that told Fuji that he shouldn't go, despite Ryoma telling him to do so. So Fuji didn't move. Neither did Ryoma, with the shirt limply hanging from his hand.

"GO!" Ryoma suddenly yelled and in a fit of anger threw the shirt on the floor, but apparently regretted doing so, as his right hand immediately flew to the bruise on his chest and he gave a pained wince. "Just... Go back to school already."

Fuji sighed and picked the shirt up from the floor.

"I'll help you get dressed. You're all helpless now. Come here."

To his surprise, Ryoma actually obeyed. With a defeated, annoyed frown, Ryoma took the few necessary steps to reach Fuji and stood still as the older boy gently helped him put the shirt on. Fuji paused as Ryoma hissed weakly.

"I'm sorry... Did that hurt?"

Ryoma shook his head, but the eyes that stubbornly stared at the floor swimmed with emotions and suddenly Fuji realized why he had wanted to see Ryoma so much. The shirt was on, but Fuji didn't move away just yet. There was still something he needed to ask. His hand was still clinging to the sleeve of Ryoma's shirt.

"Did I hurt you?"

This time, he wasn't referring to the injury. Not the bruise. Not the shot Souh had fired away at him. And the way he said it let Ryoma understand that.

_"I'm sorry I'm not gay!"_

Ryoma nodded after a few seconds of heavy silence.

"A lot?" Fuji asked quietly, not trusting his voice enough to speak louder.

"A lot."

Another minute of pained silence went by and Fuji noticed that he wasn't sure what to say. He had actually hurt another person this much? And to think...hurting someone was just as painful for yourself. Ryoma gave Fuji a serious look.

"... I'm sorry," Fuji said and forced himself to meet the angry gaze of his injured teammate.

Ryoma maintained the serious expression, but nodded after a few seconds. Fuji stared after him as Ryoma went to pick his bag up. No more words were said during the next couple of minutes. It felt too awkward and Fuji was too ashamed to speak. The nurse came back and gave Ryoma a small jar of pills and told him to take one in the morning and one in the evening. She left again and Ryoma put the jar in his bag.

"My father is waiting for me. I have to go."

"I'll.... I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Yes."

The door closed after Ryoma and Fuji flopped down on the bed where Ryoma had previously been sleeping and gave the floor a wide-eyed, confused stare. What was this feeling? Relief? Joy? What was he to be happy about? The fact that Ryoma had, sort of, forgiven him for being such an asshole? The fact that Ryoma seemed to be alright, despite the scary bruise? The fact that he'd apologized and gotten it off his chest?

No...

And what the hell was that other feeling? The one competing with the hundreds of emotions, all attacking every inch of Fuji's insides, making him feel queasy? Fuji clenched his fists. He hated not knowing what was going on, especially when it came to himself. An annoyed sound emitted from his throat and he stood up, straightening.

Everything was fine now, wasn't it? Ryoma would forgive him, he wasn't as injured as Fuji thought he'd be and Fuji didn't have anything more to worry about. Ryoma would be able to get over him...because Fuji had made it perfectly clear that he did not like Ryoma the way Ryoma obviously liked him. Nope. Absolutely no chance.

Fuji smiled as he walked out of the hospital. Everything was going to be okay.

So... Why did it feel like something had changed?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Almost two weeks had passed, rather slowly, since Ryoma had been released from the hospital and Eiji was currently poking the bulging vein that had popped out on Fuji's forehead.

"Something troubling you, Fuji?" Eiji sighed and gave a teasing, cat-like smirk as he prodded the evidence of Fuji's malcontent again. Fuji peeked at his best friend through the bangs that covered his annoyed eyes.

"Why would you think that?" Fuji muttered and shooed the hand away from his head. Eiji took a seat on Fuji's desk.

"Oh, I dunno, it could be the fact that your usually so optimistic and friendly smile has magically disappeared and all the freshmen are too afraid to talk to you because of that, _or_ it could be the fact that you have a big, scary vein on your forehead. Take your pick."

Fuji just gave his friend an empty look before turning to look out the window.

"I... I'm just having a bad day."

"Try bad _week_. Syuu, you've been like this since last week. Something is obviously wrong. Won't you tell me?"

Fuji didn't reply. Yes, he knew he was behaving oddly. And no, it wasn't like him to act this coldly towards anyone - especially Eiji. And yes, Fuji felt bad, but he couldn't help it! And as usual, it was _all_ Ryoma's fault.

The little twit had made Fuji believe that he had been forgiven, but as soon as Ryoma returned to school almost two weeks ago, Fuji had only seen him during tennis practice and since Ryoma wasn't allowed to play yet, due to his injury, those times were brief and Ryoma had all but ignored Fuji altogether.

So... He _wasn't_ forgiven? Or maybe he was and Ryoma was avoiding him because he was trying to get over him or something? In any case, it annoyed Fuji a lot. They couldn't even act civil around each other? Fuji was starting to miss the good old days, when he could tease Ryoma all he wanted without the freshman taking offence. When he could act like the perfect, friendly, wise senior. That was so much better.

Maybe that was what annoyed Fuji so much. Ryoma was one of the few people who had actually seen bits and scratches of the real Fuji, and now he was being avoided like the plague. In many ways, this hurt Fuji. He had worked so hard, ever since he was a little boy, to hide his true persona. To build and shape this perfect mask of his, because he had the nagging feeling that the real him wasn't good enough. And now, when someone had in fact seen a glimpse of the true Fuji Syuusuke, he was thrown away. Avoided. _Disliked_.

In some ways, Fuji thought, Ryoma's reaction confirmed Fuji's biggest fear - he simply wasn't good enough.

He was too evil, too blunt, too much of a sadist. The real Fuji cursed and had a twisted sense of humor that often involved sex and violence. The real Fuji played with people's emotions. The real Fuji wasn't someone who smiled all day. The real Fuji was a bad person. Fuji was sure of that. It was the very reason that Fuji had worked so hard to seem like a saint.

For fuck's sake - there was a reason Fuji rarely opened his eyes properly; They say a person's true personality is reflected in their eyes.

"Syuusuke!" Eiji said, sounding annoyed as he waved his hand in front of Fuji's unseeing eyes. Fuji immediately, by reflex, squinted and gave Eiji a confused look.

"Huh?"

Eiji stared at him and the stare transformed into something more similar to a worried frown.

"Tell me already. I'm your best friend, I _always_ come to you when I have problems..."

"Yes, and I could never make you suffer like I have," Fuji joked and gave a smile to calm Eiji down. It seemed to work, as Eiji gave a pout and then a relieved grin. Fuji's smile had that effect on people. "Let's go to the cafeteria. I'm hungry."

Eiji followed him willingly, already chatting away, and although Fuji enjoyed hearing Eiji yap about everything and anything, his thoughts strayed off to a certain freshman and his expression darkened again.

"... That was so funny and, oh yeah!" Eiji put a finger up in the air as he seemed to remember something important. "O-chibi is playing today!"

"What?" Fuji stopped and stared at Eiji. "He is? I thought he wasn't allowed to play for another five or six days." Eiji shrugged and smiled.

"From what I've heard, o-chibi is allowed to train again, but he can't do anything too tiring. He's healed up pretty nicely."

"Is that so..?" Fuji hummed as they entered the café. Eiji ordered coffee and a baguette, while Fuji chose a weird, purple yoghurt and a sandwich with pickles and wasabi. They took a seat and started eating in silence. Which was almost immediately broken.

"Is everything okay between you and o-chibi?" Eiji asked innocently, but the question made Fuji choke on his wasabi-sandwich. After he finished coughing, he asked with teary eyes;

"Excuse me? What kind of a question is that?" Eiji gave him a confused look.

"Why are you getting so worked up? I'm just asking if you and Ryoma had a fight or something. Every time somebody brings him up, you get all weird. You get that scary look in your eyes and-... Yes, that's the one!" Eiji exclaimed and pointed at Fuji who realized he had been glaring. Fuji smoothed his face out and took another bite from his sandwich.

"We didn't have a fight." Yes, they did. "Everything is good." No, it's not. "Why are you so concerned?" Fuji added an innocent smile. Eiji chewed thoughtfully on his baguette before replying.

"Well, for one thing, you're my friend so it's only natural that I'd be concerned for you, and second - I care about o-chibi, too. He's the youngest after all, and... I dunno, he's interesting. Fun. Although he's been acting weird lately, too. I just don't want it to be weird. We're all teammates, aren't we?"

"I suppose... But really, it's no big deal..." Fuji stared at his purple yoghurt and suddenly he started hurting. Enough with the lies already. Eiji was his best friend. If he couldn't talk to him, who could he talk to? "We had a bit of a fight..." Eiji froze with the baguette just inches from his mouth. "That day... Um, just hours before Ryoma's match against Souh..." Fuji gave a quick smile. "But it's no big deal."

"No... big deal?" Eiji stared at him, and for some reason, Fuji flinched under the stern gaze. He really disliked Eiji's serious side. "Fuji, what did you say to him?"

"Why do you assume that _I_ was the one that said something?" Fuji asked with an annoyed pout. Eiji quirked an eyebrow.

"Didn't you?"

Fuji stared at him and sighed.

"It's complicated..."

"Complicated how?"

"Complicated in a way that I can't tell you, ok?" Fuji took an angry bite of his sandwich and almost bit his tongue. What could he say that didn't force him to explain that Ryoma had a crush on him and Fuji was a jackass for not understanding that and... Ryoma had specifically told Fuji not to tell a living soul. So he couldn't tell Eiji what was going on. Even if he wanted to.

"I noticed that things were tense between you guys before that day, too... Fuji, what's going on?" Eiji used the motherly voice he always used when he wanted Fuji to fess up about something. Fuji hated it, because it rarely failed.

"Nothing. Ryoma didn't want me to tell anyone, anyways... Besides, it's all in the past now. I talked to him at the hospital and we're cool now."

Eiji stared at him with slightly narrowed eyes, as if he didn't believe him, but Fuji gave a smile and continued eating. The yoghurt was gross, though, so he let it be. After a little while, Eiji threw a glance at his watch and sighed.

"I have history class now. See you at practice."

Fuji yawned and got up from the chair.

"Yeah, my English class starts in a few minutes, too. See you."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Let's all welcome Ryoma back to practice with a big hooray!" Eiji called and ruffled Ryoma's hair. Some random freshmen cheered for Ryoma, but since the youngest regular glared dangerously at his older teammates, they didn't dare do the same.

"Welcome back, Echizen," Tezuka said and gave a nearly visible smile. The rest of the team gave Ryoma pats on the shoulder and encouraging comments. Everyone, but Fuji. Fuji kept to the back, with his hands in his pockets and stared at the touching scene. Ryoma smiled a little when Eiji gave him a hug. Fuji tried to smile at Ryoma, but since Ryoma never looked at him, he didn't put much effort into it.

"Okay, let's start practice," Tezuka said. "Everyone run five laps around the court and then team up. I want Eiji and Oishi to be able to train as a pair, so we need another pair to train with them... Momoshiro and Ryoma, perhaps? You two could also use some practice at pair-playing. Besides, since Ryoma's not altogether recovered, it's probably a good thing for him not to play singles first thing."

The team agreed and they started running. Fuji tried staying behind the rest of the team, which forced him to jog all the way, while Ryoma stayed in the front, obviously happy to be participating in practice again.

After the five laps they all had to do, people quickly paired up. Fuji watched in the corner of his eye as Momo and Ryoma talked briefly with each other before going towards one of the courts where Oishi and Eiji were already waiting for them.

Tezuka paired up with Inui and Takashi paired up with Kaoru. Which meant Fuji had to wait for his turn. As soon as Tezuka beat Inui, Fuji would be able to play against him and it had been a while since Fuji and Tezuka had a match.

In the meantime, Fuji took the opportunity to watch the others play.

Originally, he was planning to watch Tezuka and Inui, but his eyes wandered off to the pairs match. To Ryoma. Fuji walked towards their court and smiled innocently to himself as he came closer, as if he was merely curious and didn't have anything better to do. He hoped Ryoma wouldn't see him, but at the same time, he wished to talk to him. To ask why he had been avoiding him. That had to wait however, since the match was about to begin.

Momo served and Eiji countered quickly. Momo shot back and Oishi slammed it towards the other side. The ball hit the net and the point went to Ryoma and Momo. Momo laughed loudly while Ryoma just gave a teasing smirk to Oishi who rubbed the back of his head while Eiji gave him an annoyed pout.

Momo served again and this time, Oishi caught the ball perfectly and shot it towards Ryoma who had the same fiercely passionate expression as he always wore when he played. The ball approached its goal and Ryoma raised his racquet and...

Oh crap.

Fuji opened his blue eyes and stared at Ryoma, as did Momo, Eiji and Oishi.

The sound of a racquet being dropped on the ground echoed over the court. Fuji's chest started hurting and he could feel how cold worry filled his insides as he stared at their tensai freshman - kneeling on the court while his hands desperately clutching his chest. Despite the distance, Fuji could clearly see the panicked and shocked look on Ryoma's face and the sweat dripping down the face.

"Ryoma?" Momo said carefully and kneeled next to Ryoma and put a hand on his back. Oishi, Eiji and Fuji walked up to them. Oishi also kneeled next to Ryoma, who was panting a little. Fuji stared at Ryoma's racquet that lay on the ground. "Ryoma, are you okay? What happened?"

"I-I... I'm sorry," Ryoma ground out. "I just..." His previously wide-open, shocked eyes were filled with anger and annoyance. "I don't know," he said and straightened. "I just saw the ball coming and I was about to swing, but I..."

"It's a reflex," Ryuuzaki, who at some point had joined them, said and gave Ryoma a serious look. "To put it bluntly, your brain has started to believe that all tennis-balls are bad news. Your subconscious is still shocked from what happened two weeks ago."

"What?" Ryoma said, sounding so incredibly shocked and confused that it actually hurt. Fuji clenched his jaw and averted his gaze to the dropped racquet again. Ryuuzaki sighed and picked the forgotten, lime-green ball up. She held it up in front of Ryoma.

"Does this scare you?" She asked and Ryoma shook his head, quirking an eyebrow.

"No?"

"What about now?" The female coach said and threw the ball weakly towards Ryoma who immediately flinched and took a step back, as his right hand flew to cover the bruise on his chest. "Do you understand now?"

Ryoma stared at the ball as it bounced innocently around his feet.

"Holy shit..." He said weakly and dropped the hand that had been protecting his chest. Fuji's gaze went back to Ryoma's face. It held an angry, helpless expression. "I'm... I'm all fucked up."

tbc.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aaaalrighty! That concludes the end of chapter 7! I meant to write a longer chapter, since I've been away for so long, but I don't have the energy, haha... Gomen ne?

Chapter 8-teaser: Ryuuzaki decides that Fuji will help Ryoma to get over his new fear of tennis-balls being thrown at him. Ryoma also gets a visit from the u.s. And Fuji is forced to face his emotions.

Please - **REVIEW**! o.o (It's not that hard, just press the little "review"-bar and write something! ^^)


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own prince of tennis.

I do, however, own the plot of this fic, and any character that might appear that is not from the original manga/anime.

Why hello! I'm back (again). I've had a lot on my mind lately, and I really do apologize for my long absense. Gomen ne? Like, I went to Turkey with my class, then there was prom, then I met a guy and we're in a relationship now (Yay me!), then I graduated high school! Right now, I'm in my bed, coughing and sweating... Yah - I'm having a really bad fever, and I've been sick since monday. Four days. What a great way to start my summer break. (well, it's not really a summer break... I've graduated... I dunno what to call it anymore. I'm not a student right now, I'm just... unemployed. Horray..?)

I've missed Sweet and Troublesome SO much! So even though I'm too exhausted to even get up, I'll write the new chapter now. ^^ I just have to call my mom... I want a sandwich, I'm dying here... MOM!! FEED ME!!

... Ah, yum... ^^ (muches)

Warnings; The usual - slash (yaoi), minor ooc-ness (Major for Fuji), and... stuff. M-rated for a reason. ^^ Cursing and general emoness, I suppose, but not that much. I don't really like emoness. It's too clishé.

I also suggest you skim through the previous chapter to make sure you haven't forgotten anything. :) It might be confusing otherwise.

Onto the chapter! :D Chapter 8 (Ryoma's p.o.v.) Please note that this chapter _has yet to be edited_ by my beta. I'll re-upload it once she's done with it. I just couldn't wait. ^^

* * *

It was a fact that no one at school hadn't heard about - Echizen Ryoma, the tennis tensai, was afraid of tennis balls. Ryoma, of all people. Ryoma, who grew up with Echizen Nanjirou.

Three days had passed since that day on the court. Ryoma was aimlessly walking around the school area, unsure of what to do. Usually, when he had nothing to do at recess, he'd go to the tennis court. But he was too embarrassed. Too ashamed to ever show his face there again.

He was... _afraid_... of tennis balls.

With a groan of embarrassment, Ryoma hid his face in his palms and leaned against the brick wall. He slowly slid down, until he sat on the ground, and there he brought his knees up and hugged them close. If anyone saw him now, in this weak, pathetic state, he'd fucking kill them. The fact that everyone at school had heard about his new fear of lime-green round things was plenty enough for him.

But with Ryoma's bad luck, someone would probably find him soon... and it-

"There you are", someone said, making Ryoma freeze for a moment. He slowly peeked up from his knees, prepared to scare whoever it was off with a glare, but when he saw that it was Momo, he relaxed a little. Momo loved to tease Ryoma about everything and anything, but he was Ryoma's best friend after all. Momo knew when to shut up. Ryoma buried his face into his knees again.

The tall tennis player took a seat next to his very depressed friend and sighed, as if he was feeling content with the weather or something. Something cold touched Ryoma's arm, and he flinched a little before he looked up again. Momo had brought him a Ponta. The hard knot of anger, frustration and shame loosened a little, and Ryoma gave Momo a weak smile.

"Thanks..."

"No problem", Momo said and opened his own soda - a coke. They drank in silence, not really knowing what to say, and frankly, they didn't need to say anything. The silence was comfortable enough.

Ryoma felt weak, exhausted almost, from everything that had happened. He had been injured, hospitalized, he had healed, he had developed some kind of lame-ass-I'm-scared-shitless-of-tennis-balls-phobia... and then there was _Fuji_. Fuji with all the drama that came along with him. Fuji, who had come to visit him at the hospital, and Fuji who had looked genuinely sorry for the things he had said.

Ryoma frowned. He was still pissed though. And the following thoughts made him even more ticked off;

Fuji with his sweet smile, Fuji with his calm voice, Fuji with his fierceness, Fuji with his perfect body, Fuji, Fuji, FUJI.

Dear lord, couldn't he think of anything besides Fuji?!

"Hey, Ryoma, about Fuji-" Momo started, but frowned with confusion when he saw Ryoma's upset expression. "What's with the look?"

"What about him?" Ryoma replied and grumpily continued to drink his Ponta. _Not_ thinking about Fuji apparently wasn't meant to be. Momo quirked an eyebrow before he continued.

"Well, it's about... about what happened at the court... You know, that you're scared of tennis balls and everything..."

Ryoma shut his eyes in frustration. This conversation was just getting better and better wasn't it?

"Not that it's anything _wrong_ with that, I mean...!" Momo quickly tried to cover it up - apparently it made him uncomfortable talking about Ryoma's new phobia. "It's... It's just the way it is now, isn't it?" Momo said, after calming down, and Ryoma nodded weakly.

"Yes..."

"But!" Momo suddenly sounded positive again. "Ryuuzaki-sensei came up with a brilliant idea! You know how Fuji's parents work at the hospital and everything, right?"

"Yes", Ryoma ground out, feeling tense from talking about Fuji, the one who so persistently pestered his thoughts...

"Well, he's going to train you. Fuji is going to help you get over your fear of tennis balls! Isn't it great?" Momo smiled brightly, as if he had just told Ryoma that he had won two hundred cans of Ponta. Ryoma froze and stared at his senpai, begging him to say 'I'm just kidding!'

"You're... You're shitting me, right?"

"Hm?" Momo gave Ryoma a confused look. "No? I'm serious, it's been decided. Until you stop being scared of tennis balls, you and Fuji are to practice on a separate court while the rest of us practices like usual. I thought you'd be glad... Fuji is a genius, after all. He'll get you straightened out in no time! To tell the truth, you kinda freaked me out when you couldn't return Oishi's ball the other day. I mean, it was just a ball." Momo took another swig from his coke, oblivious to the fact that Ryoma was staring at the ground with a shocked and very miserable face.

Sure enough, Fuji did come to visit him at the hospital, and yes - he sort of forgave him for what the things Fuji had said, but it still felt extremely awkward to speak to the older boy, and to be honest - Ryoma was still angry with Fuji for messing everything up so badly.

Like, for example, the let's-see-if-I'm-gay-date. As if setting Ryoma up with Sakuno-san wasn't bad enough, Fuji had the nerve to ask him out on a pretend-date, just to see if he was possibly gay, and then, when it should've been impossible to do more harm, Fuji yelled "Sorry that I don't feel like fucking you" straight out to Ryoma's face.

Ryoma had all the right to still be angry.

But then again... The look on Fuji's face when he had apologized back at the hospital had somehow stuck with Ryoma. It was so... honest, and genuine. Ryoma had never seen Fuji like that. There was always a fake smile, or a twitch in the eyebrow that gave away the fact that Fuji wasn't being honest. Always just pretending to be happy. Ryoma had started to notice these things around the same time as he started to feel attracted to Fuji.

"Great, just... Great", Ryoma sighed and slumped against the wall again, grumpily slurping his ponta. Momo gave him a wondering look.

"What's the matter? I though you'd be thrilled. It's Fuji we're talking about, Fuji!"

You don't have to shout his name twice in one sentence, Ryoma thought, feeling a headache coming on.

"Thrilled... huh?" Ryoma sighed again. "Well, I suppose... I can't stay the way I am now."

"I know, right?" Momo said and his face took on a suffering look. "I can't imagine being unable to play tennis... And you haven't played in so long..."

"You're telling me", Ryoma snorted and gave a hollow smirk. "I'm starting to understand the meaning of 'abstinence'."

Momo laughed and ruffled Ryoma's hair. The freshman gave a playful glare. The fight they had had the day of the accident was already forgotten long ago. It hadn't really been Momo who made Ryoma angry. It was Fuji. Who would've thought?

That morning, the jerk had actually turned on his heel when he saw Ryoma walking towards him in the corridor. Ryoma's playful glare turned into a serious one.

"Ryoma? What're you thinking about? You're frowning... and it's kinda freaking me out." Momo made a face and put his hands up in front of his face, as if he thought Ryoma would suddenly attack him.

"It's nothing... Nothing at all." Ryoma forced a small smile. "So... Um, when exactly will this training begin?"

"Hm? Tomorrow." Momo smiled and ruffled Ryoma's hair again. "Good luck, ok?"

* * *

"So that's how it is from now on", Tezuka explained to the crowd of tennis players. "Echizen and Fuji will train on their own, until Ryoma's ready to come back. Court three is booked for them, so it's no use trying to go there to play tennis while they're there." Tezuka's facial expression changed a little and became somewhat warmer. "The team needs Ryoma back, as soon as possible. He's a very important player. So I'm saying this once and for all - don't disturb them."

Ryoma felt a small warmth spread thoughout his body at his captain's words, but the fact that in a few minuntes he'd be alone with the very person he had tried to avoid made him feel stiff and uncertain. It was as if he didn't know Fuji anymore, and was about to go train with an absolute stranger, who didn't even speak the same language.

Fuji glanced at him from across the court, where he stood with Eiji and waited for Tezuka's speech to end. Fuji looked as calm and untroubled as ever, but Ryoma, who had learned to read Fuji's face on a higher level, noticed the small wrinkle over his eyebrow, and the fact that the tensai had his hands in his pockets, which he never had usually - only when he felt uncomfortable about something.

"Back to work", Tezuka called, and Ryoma's heart drooped. This was it. There was no running away. And, as Momo had said, Fuji _was _a genius, and Ryoma _couldn't _stay this way. He was prepared to do anything. Fear of balls? Ryoma? Hell no!

So, feeling his legs shake with the desire to run away, Ryoma forced himself to walk to his senpai. They didn't speak, they didn't look at each other... They just walked silently towards court number three. It might as well have been a prison. That's how dreadful Ryoma felt. He held his beloved raquet in a hard grip.

Fuji picked out a ball from the pocket of his jacket and bounced it on the ground a few times, glancing at how Ryoma repsonded to it. Ryoma tried to act indifferent, but alas, every time the ball his the ground, the 'thud' made Ryoma flinch a little.

"We'll start with something simple, okay?" Fuji suddenly said, and Ryoma flinched even more at this. The senpai held the ball up for Ryoma to see.

Ryoma tried his best not to take a horrified step back; Fuji, plus a ball. _Fuji_, and a _tennis ball_. This terrifying combination would probably give him nightmares. Fuji held the ball out to Ryoma.

"Take it."

Ryoma stared defiantly on the ground, before he finally took the ball from Fuji's cool hand. He loved the way it felt in his hand, and before he knew what he was doing, he brought it to his nose and inhaled the scent of rubber and the plastic little green hairs that covered it. Just like he always did when he bought new balls. Realizing what he was doing, he removed the ball from his nose and gave Fuji a quick glare.

"Considering how much you seemed to enjoy the smell of that ball, I'm sure you wanna get back to playing tennis as soon as possible. Am I right?"

"Hn."

"So... please put your anger aside during training, okay?" Fuji suddenly looked a little sad, even though he was still smiling. That damn, polite, false smile! "I know you're still angry with me... And I... I can't really do anything about that right now. But I wanna help you. Tennis practice isn't the same without you."

And just like that, Ryoma's anger was like flown out the window, and the feelings he had resented for several weeks came rushing back.

And Ryoma blushed.

He hadn't blushed at the thought of Fuji in a long time now. He had been too angry. But now, seeing his too-handsome-to-be-legal-senpai look so sad and... _unsure_ of himself, Ryoma couldn't help but to forget his anger for just a few seconds, and just enjoy the sight. Fuji really was gorgeous. He turned his head away to hide his blush and scraped on the ground with his shoe.

"I..." He started, but didn't really know what to say. The truth? Yeah... that'd probably work.

"I was angry... Sorry. Even though you apologized and everything..." Ryoma murmured, kicked harder on the ground and hated himself for sounding like a pouting child. "I was really pissed, and I think that it's been hard for me to face you... I think I might've even _wanted_ to stay angry with you."

Fuji blinked and gave a questioning look. Ryoma sighed. He knew this was going to be awkward. But, to be honest, it'd probably be best to just let it out. To shut up about it would only lead to confusion, more anger, more pain and frustration. Fuji and Ryoma would perhaps never be on good terms again, if Ryoma didn't explain the situation, once and for all.

"Look", he started and met Fuji's gaze. "You know how I feel about you. Let's not make a big deal out of it... You know how I feel about you, and I know that you don't feel the same way. What you said to me that day hurt badly, and I was already pretty upset with you for that _incredibly_ lame date and everything, and- don't interrupt me," Ryoma said and put up a hand to prevent Fuji from saying anything.

"To be honest I think I sort of wanted to stay angry with you, cuz it'd make it easier to get over you." Ryoma sighed and brought a hand behind his head to scratch his neck. This was embarrassing. So unlike him.

"But it was tiring, being angry all the time... so," He gave Fuji a long stare and extended his hand. "Friends?"

Fuji looked positively shocked, which was to expect - Ryoma never really talked about how he felt. Ever. And Ryoma could feel his cheeks burn. He would have to take a really long shower after this, and then he would probably not voice his emotions for another two years or so. This was plently enough.

"... Friends. If you want us to be." Fuji grabbed his hand and Ryoma nodded. Warmth spread through him again. But still, this felt way better than going around feeling angry all the time. He'd deal with being in love. And hopefully, he'd manage to get over Fuji. Some day.

"Let's train."

"Yep."

* * *

One week had passed. No progress had been made. Ryoma was still scared of tennis balls, and Fuji was still trying his best to help his kouhai get over this absurd fear_. Absurd_ because it went against everything that Ryoma was. A tennis player.

And he was still afraid of bouncing tennis balls.

"Let's do it again," Fuji said, after the third failure that practice session. Ryoma sighed with frustration and stared with resent at the ball by his feet. He wanted to kick it away and never see it again.

"Fine," he muttered and picked the ball up. Fuji crossed his arms over his chest and gave a patient smile.

"Come on, do it like before."

"Yeah, yeah..." Ryoma let the ball bounce before his feet once and caught it. He swallowed and took a deep breath before he dropped it once more, listened to the bouncing sound it made when it hit the ground, and then caught it. His hand gripped it so hard, his knuckles turned white. After staring at the ball for a few seconds, he turned his face away with an annoyed frown. "It's not getting better," he murmured, resent laced in his words. Self-loathing.

"Don't say that," Fuji said, scratching the back of his head, but his face was also wearing a troubled expression. "We're just... we're just gonna have to find another way to-"

"Oh please," Ryoma sneered and threw the ball away. He twitched every time the ball hit the ground on its way towards the fence. "I've been practicing _bouncing a tennis ball_ for a week! It's fucking ridicoulus!" He sat down and hid his face in his hands. "It's impossible, Fuji-senpai... Maybe I should just..."

"Give up?" Fuji took a seat next to him. Ryoma blushed slightly, but since his face was neatly tucked in behind his hands, Fuji did not notice this. "Yeah, maybe you should give up."

Ryoma let his hands fall and turned to stare at his senpai. Fuji gave him a big smile.

"You could become really, really good at something else. Like... How about chess?"

Fuji gave a wink and a look that made Ryoma warm inside. He now realized his senpai was joking. The look Fuji gave him was warm, and mature, and... it sort of said 'You'll do great. Have patience.' Ryoma couldn't help but to smirk back and give a soft, amused snort.

"Point taken," he said. "But still..." he glanced at the ball he had thrown away. "I'm not improving..." His gaze turned to the redish ground of the tennis court, and Fuji must've sensed Ryoma's sadness, because a warm hand was placed on the younger's back and Ryoma gave a startled flinch.

"You know what?" Fuji said, sounding a little excited. "I just thought of another idea. I don't know if you're ready for it, but it might work better than the other exercises." He smiled to Ryoma, eyes squinted the usual way. Ryoma blinked.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well," Fuji started and rose from the ground with a sigh. "You might come to hate me for it, but this is how we're gonna do it... You are going to stand here," Fuji dragged Ryoma on his feet and gestured to the spot where Ryoma stood. "Stand still." Fuji went to pick the ball up. When he came back to Ryoma, he had a careful, but excited expression on his face. "Now, I'm going to throw this ball at you..- really softly!" He added, when Ryoma gave him a glare of utmost dismay. "The only thing you need to do, is to stand still, and let the ball hit you."

"..."

"It might work, you know," Fuji said, noticing the lack of response. Ryoma glared at the ground.

"It sounds so easy to just stand still and let the ball hit me, but... It's like I can't control it. My body's terrified of that damn little thing. It's... pa...thetic... what the?" Ryoma's words slowed down, as he suddenly realized something bouncing around his feet. He looked down and saw the lime green tennis ball Fuji had been holding seconds ago. His gaze darted up to Fuji's smiling face.

"See? We just have to practice. The problem is that your body, your reflexes, think that the ball is dangerous, that it's going to hurt you. This practice will show that the ball isn't dangerous at all."

"... Well..." Ryoma hesitated. He had started to hate tennis balls, because this whole ordeal made him very uncertain and embarrassed. It wasn't normal to back away when you saw a tennis ball come towards you - at least not when you're a tennis player. It was like fearing presents on christmas.

"Keep your eyes at the ball," Fuji said and before Ryoma had the chance to protest, Fuji had already thrusted it towards him, and with a soft thud, it hit Ryoma's leg. Ryoma blinked a couple of times and stared at the ball, as if he was looking at a very rare animal.

"I..." Ryoma stared at Fuji. "Do it again!" Fuji smiled and picked the ball up, then he threw it softly towards Ryoma's leg. Ryoma tensed a little, but he didn't move, and although his heart jumped a little, it was more a feeling of riding a rollercoaster, than actual fear.

They continued doing this for another twenty minutes, until Ryoma didn't feel tense anymore. Then they started playing something similar to throw-and-catch. Ryoma managed to catch them all. He couldn't help a grin from breaking out on his face.

"This... I can feel it, Fuji!" He gave a short, delighted laugh. "It feels... like before!"

"Like what?" Fuji asked and threw it towards Ryoma again. Ryoma caught it, smirked and held the ball up with his trademark-cocky gaze.

"Like I'm in control again." He threw it to Fuji, who caught it with elegance.

"You wanna try playing some tennis?" Fuji asked and smiled when Ryoma nodded with excitement. The younger player ran to get his raquet.

"My serve!" Ryoma said and smirked to Fuji, who for a second had a strangely warm, odd look in his face. The senpai nodded.

"Fine."

Ryoma took his stand, let the ball bounce at the ground a few times. He could feel the excitement pumping through his veins. He knew he was smiling, he knew he was breathing faster than usual. He knew this, and he loved it all. He was in control. He gave Fuji a quick glance. Warmth filled him again, and he turned away before his mind had the chance to realize that he was looking at the boy he still had a crush on, which would've caused a blush.

Ryoma let out a breath and heaved the ball over his head, and the slammed it with his raquet. It felt unusual, his arm was stiff and he knew he needed to practice hard this week to catch up to his former tennis-form. But it still felt _great_. After three weeks without tennis, this was like drinking water in Sahara. And when Fuji slammed the ball back, Ryoma could feel the twinge of slight fear in the pit of his stomach, but he didn't back away or flinch. He raised his raquet, watched the ball closely as it came closer, and then shot it back over the net.

Fuji was so stunned at this great improvement that he didn't return the ball. He just stared at Ryoma, who was panting slightly, from the adrenaline mostly. Energy rushed in his body and mind, and he needed to do something! Run, jump, scream... Play tennis!

"Ryoma, you..!"

"I know!" Ryoma said, and for the first time in a very long time, he laughed. Loudly and happily, Ryoma laughed and did a silly twirl on the spot. "I can play tennis again!"

Fuji ran over to his side of the court, grinning, eyes open, and Ryoma's breath caught when he saw the honest joy in that handsome face. He blushed and was about to stutter something about not getting too excited for his sake, but Fuji had already thrown his arms around him.

"I knew you could do it!" The senpai said, sounding delighted. He pulled back from the flushed thirteen year-old, and ruffled Ryoma's hair. "I knew it... You're our wonder-kid, after all, you..." Fuji went silent, and the smile seemed to melt a little. The blue eyes seemed deeper and Ryoma tried looking away, but his body didn't seem to want to obey. He did, however, notice everything about Fuji. The way his senpai swallowed, and the way the blue gaze flickered a little, as if embarrassed, but kept returning to Ryoma's.

And Ryoma could litterally feel how his cheeks became red and blood-filled, and how his head bowed down a little, embarrassed, shy almost. Like a girl. No, not like a girl... More like... A young person, in love. Fuji's eyes were still upon him, but after a few seconds. The senpai backed away a little, scratching the back of his head with a nervous laugh.

Ryoma knew that Fuji was probably feeling embarrassed from their history. The fact that Ryoma was in love with him was still true, and they both knew it. The fact that Fuji wasn't in love with Ryoma was also a fact, one that Ryoma was sure of.

Which was why, when Ryoma was getting ready to excuse himself, he was quite shocked when Fuji suddenly blurted;

"Third time's a charm, right?"

"... Huh?" Ryoma blinked and stared at his senpai. He took a firmer grip of his raquet and took a step back, getting ready to leave. He was suddenly feeling too nervous around Fuji, too nervous to feel comfortable.

"Third time's... I mean..." Fuji's eyes darted to everything around Ryoma, except the boy himself. "Wouldyouliket'go'ndatewime?"

Ryoma blinked again. Feeling the tight grip he had on his raquet loosening a little.

"What?" His voice came out sounding weak. Fuji probably noticed this, as the hand that had previously been rubbing the back of his head fell to his side, and the face went serious for a second. Thereafter, the older player put on a happy mask again, hiding whatever truth there was in the face to reveal.

"Nothing... Nothing, I just... We should go out celebrate this, tonight!" His smile was unnaturally big and before Ryoma had a chance to say anything more, Fuji had already turned away from him.

"Hey, you guys!" Fuji yelled to their teammates on the other courts. "Ryoma's all better! Let's go out for pizza tonight!"

There were cheering, laughing and randomly happy faces and comments around a quite dazed Ryoma. The team came over to hug him and pat him on the shoulder, but all Ryoma could see was Fuji, standing a bit from the happy crowd, eyes hidden beneath brown bangs. There was a smile, but an empty one. One that Ryoma had started to hate. A lot.

Ryoma could feel how bitterness filled him, and his shocked stare became an angry one. He had heard what Fuji had said. Heard it loud and clear.

What the hell?

WHAT. THE. HELL?!

* * *

"Man, I ate too much!" Eiji whined and patted his stomach, as if he could make some of the food stuffed in there go away. Oishi gave a motherly sigh and ruffled Eiji's hair.

"I told you not to take the family size... And you didn't even finish it."

"Maw, Oishi ate a lot, too..." Eiji pouted and the conversation between the golden pair continued. Ryoma didn't really listen to what they said, he just watched them. There was something about them that attracted him. He dind't know what, but he was pretty sure it was the comfort. The trust between them, that linked them together. The fact that they could argue with each other, be angry with each other, and still remain so incredibly close.

He was not sure why he sensed sparks between Eiji and Oishi, but he somehow knew that the ruffles Oishi gave Eiji's hair weren't merely teasing the red-head from eating too much, and the pouts Eiji gave Oishi weren't necessarily the same old usual pouts Eiji gave when he was annoyed about something. There was a deeper connection, and before Ryoma knew it, he was staring at them like hypnotized.

"Did you have fun tonight?" A voice came from behind, and Ryoma jumped, startled. Momo grinned at him. "You sure ate a lot." Ryoma sighed.

"Yeah, I've been so down lately, I haven't really been hungry. But now..." He could barely restrain himself from grinning. "I feel better now."

"I understand that!" Momo said, nodding. "I'm so glad you're back on! I was getting seriously worried... Well, this is my place. See you tomorrow!" The tall sophomore waved goodbye and left the crew walking home through the chilly night air. Tezuka had left early, and Takashi lived right next to the restaurant, so now there were only six team mates walking. Kaido and Inui left pretty soon after that, as they both lived one block from Momo.

Ryoma suddenly realized that Eiji and Oishi would be taking their leave soon, too, and that would lead to him walking alone with Fuji, who lived closest to his house. He tensed, and the anger from earlier came rushing back.

"We'll be taking our leave now!" Oishi said and smiled when Eiji gave a big grin and a wave.

"See you guys tomorrooow!"

They left, still bickering and laughing amongst themselves. Ryoma and Fuji, who had stayed in the back but now had come to join his younger team mate, stared after them. Desperatly needing to break the somewhat awkward silence, Ryoma cleared his throat.

"They look so comfortable around each other..."

"They're in love," Fuji said, as if it was the most common thing in the world. "Of course they're comfortable around each other."

"They're together?!" Ryoma asked, bewildered. He had no idea they had a gay couple in the team. Fuji gave a soft laugh.

"I didn't say that. I said that they're in love with each other." He gave Ryoma a mysterious smile. "They just don't know it yet."

Ryoma blinked and turned his gaze to Oishi and Eiji again. They were disappearing quickly, but Ryoma could still clearly sense the atmosphere that the boys shared.

_They're in love..._

"Shall we walk?" Fuji had already taken a few steps ahead, and Ryoma hurried to catch up to him. They walked in silence for a few minutes. It felt a bit awkward, and yet, he kinda enjoyed it. The sounds of the night were ones he had always loved - cars, music from far away, people talking and laughing... He liked it.

"I heard what you said earlier." Ryoma hadn't given his mouth permission to speak, and yet it had said the very thing he didn't want to say. He glanced to Fuji, who stared at him with open eyes. His steps looked stiffer now, and the hands dug deeper into the pockets.

"... You did, huh?" Gathering his composure, Fuji smiled, as if nothing was wrong. "Well... Just forget about it. It was just a... stupid idea. Just randomly... um... Forget it."

Ryoma didn't say anything. They kept walking. Ryoma glanced at the hands digging into the pockets, and the unconsciously nervous twitch in the Adam's apple. He gave a soft snigger.

The fact that he could read Fuji the way he could made him feel strangely warm inside. And even though he was still a bit put off by the idea of Fuji having the nerve to ask him out on a date, _again_, and then on top of it all pretending like he hadn't meant it... Ryoma dind't feel very angry anymore.

"I hope they get together," Ryoma said, watching the stars above them with a bored expression. Fuji turned to look at him.

"Hm? Who?"

"Oishi and Eiji. I hope they figure it out soon, so that they can be together for real." Ryoma said, tucking his hands into his pockets as well. He felt light.

"... It's not always that easy. It can be complicated," Fuji murmured after a few seconds. He sounded a bit depressed as he said this.

Ryoma snorted and turned to look at Fuji with a confident grin.

"I don't think so. Love isn't complicated, unless you want it to be." He stopped and shrugged. "This is my house," he said and glanced towards the large house behind him. He turned back to Fuji. "See you tomorrow, senpai."

And then he gave Fuji one of his rare, honest, and quite small smiles before he turned around and walked to his front door, leaving a gaping Fuji-senpai behind.

Tbc.

* * *

**A/N, please read**: Okay, it's 1:47 am, and I need to sleep. Hope you liked it, and I'm sorry for the lack of any romance at all, whatsoever. Except for that short look-into-each-other's-eyes-scene at the tennis court. And yes, I realize the extreme** ooc-ness** and lame-ass fluff of this chapter's content, but I don't have the energy to do anything about it. I HATE fluff. But my fingers seem to write whatever they please, not taking my wishes in regard. I also feel that I was a bit rushed, and for some reason, Ryoma's grudge seemed so incredibly immature once I wrote it down... Ugh. It didn't seem that bad in my head, but once I actually wrote it down, everything seemed a bit... stupid. Ah well! He's thirteen! He's more or less SUPPOSED to be a bit stupid when it comes to love. (laughs)

However, the next chapter will hopefully be a bit more mature and realistic. It'll be written from Fuji's point of view, and it'll explain things that happened in this chapter. (Basically, it'll be another version of THIS chapter, only it'll be from Fuji's p.o.v. The nest chapter will also take us a bit further into the story - in other words, it won't stop where this chapter stopped. That'd be a bit too boring.)  
I'll also try and keep the ooc-ness to a minimum. This is getting a bit too much, I fear. Have we EVER seen Ryoma laugh? Nope. Darn it, I'm losing my skills...

I hope you liked it, though! You have to admit, it's pretty sweet. And YAY - Oishi and Eiji will be a side-pairing in this fic! ^^ Lovely. It just came to me as I wrote it.

Please let me know what you thought of it?  
- REVIEW, for God's sake. ^^ Happy authors work faster.


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own Prince of Tennis, nor any of the characters.

I do, however, own the plot of this fic and any character that might be involved that is not from the original storyline of Prince of Tennis.

A/N: Hello, domo. It's your awesome and very beloved author, Ciiah-sama. About this chapter - It's Fuji's p.o.v. this time, and as I wrote in the previous chapter, it'll more or less give us an image of how he experienced the events in the previous chapter, like, for example what he was thinking when he was assigned to help Ryoma get over his fear, and yada-yada. You get the drill.

I'll try my best to keep the ooc-ness to a minimum this time.

However I must say that reviews saying nothing but "Ryoma was ooc" or something, are sort of getting on my nerves. I already know full well that Ryoma is acting incredibly ooc - I'm the one who made it happen! And I've already explained it in my Author's notes. So if you're ignoring my A/N's, I'll also ignore your reviews.

And hey - who the heck knows how Ryoma and Fuji would act if this actually happened in the manga/anime? Huh? No one knows how they would act, if they actually were in this situation. That's the beauty of being an Author of Fanfiction. I can make them do whatever I want.

Then of course, I don't really like it when their personas stray too much from their original characters either. I love Ryoma's cold grumpyness, and I love Fuji's mysterious intellect. Which is why I always try to keep the ooc-ness to a minimum, but sometimes this is very hard to achieve. Sometimes, I _have_ to change their personalities a little, to make it work better with the story that I have planned.

Okay, having cleared that out, let's move on. (OBS, please note that this chapter has yet to be edited by my beta. ^^ So if it's a little rough around the edges, bear with it!)

Chapter 9. Fuji's p.o.v.

* * *

"Fuji," Ryuuzaki-sensei called from her desk as he appeared by the door. He had no idea why he had been called to her office in the middle of class, but judging from the smile on her face, it couldn't be that bad. He smiled gently back at her and took a seat on the chair in front of the Tennis-coach's desk. Said coach leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. This sort of made Fuji feel a bit nervous. As if she was about to assign some weird, horrid task to him, and he'd have no right to refuse.

Oh yes, and he knew that smile of hers. He had seen it often. However, usually, Fuji wasn't the victim.

"What is it?" Fuji asked as politely as he could and tried to calm himself. Ryuuzaki's smile grew larger and Fuji swallowed.

"Well, I was thinking... Your parants work at a hospital, yeah?"

"... Yes?" What did that have to do with anything?

"And... your mother," Ryuuzaki started and her eyes narrowed. "Where exactly does she work?"

"She... She works in the rehabilitation department. Why?" He was feeling more nervous now. The corners of his smile started to tremble ever so slightly.

"And Fuji," Ryuuzaki said, leaning forward now. "What is it that she does?" Fuji gulped and had the feeling that he was getting more nervous than necessary, but the semi-evil smile on the woman's face freaked him out.

"She helps injured people regain their strength to walk and such... Look, sensei, I don't know what it is that you want, but I-"

"Okay, okay," she sighed and the freaky smile disappeared. "I was just wondering..."

"What?"

"You're a genius, aren't you?"

Fuji grit his teeth. A genius, huh? Technically, he was... But emotionally? Not so.

"Um, so I've been told, but I don't know about that" he said, trying to act modest, and shrugged. "Why?"

"I was just wondering if you were willing to do your old coach a favour," Ryuuzaki said mischievously.

"Huh? Uh... Sure? I suppose." Fuji sighed and forced himself to smile. This was going to be a long day. The woman grinned and patted his shoulder.

"Then it's decided!" She chuckled with content.

"What is?" Fuji asked, and suddenly regretted being so damn kind.

"That you, our dear Fuji-genius, is the one who is going to help our dear Ryoma-genius to get back on his feet!" The look on the woman's face was happy, optimistic, while Fuji's face lacked any kind of real emotions at all.

What did she say? He's going to help Ryoma get over his fear of tennis? What? Huh?

"I don't know how to do that!" Fuji exclaimed with horror. In fact, he probably could... It was more an issue of not wanting to set a foot near Ryoma, who had given him the cold shoulder ever since that day on the hospital. Even though he said he'd forgive Fuji. That damn brat.

"Of course you know!" Ryuuzaki said. "Because you're a genius and you're your mother's son," she stated, apparently very sure of herself and her own sense of logic.

Fuji stared at her and realized that he would have to suck it up. Probably.

"... Do I have to?" He wondered silently, staring furiously down at his knees. Ryuuzaki's cheerful chuckling stopped and the elderly woman gave her student a long look.

"Don't you _want_ to?" She asked, sounding rather surprised at Fuji's reluctance. "Considering how worried you were when he was still in the hospital, I thought you'd be happy to help. And frankly, I think you'll do a great job. Ryoma trusts you. And of course, this is just for the time being. If you don't success, we'll have no choice but to hire a professional to help Ryoma get better. But I have a feeling that you'll do great. But of course, if you don't want to do it... You don't have to."

Fuji once again had to grit his teeth, but this time it was to prevent a snort from escaping. Ryoma trusted him? Ha! After all they had been through, it sounded like a bad joke.

But then again, Fuji didn't want to wake any further curiosity. If people were to find out that he and Ryoma were no longer on good terms, what would they say? Fuji was on good terms with everyone! He just was! He wasn't disliked by anyone, and he would never make anyone angry. Never.

So Fuji put on his smile again, even though he had started to understand that Ryuuzaki saw how hollow it was. It was still his best protection against 'those who didn't know.'

"No, of course... I'll do it, it's just... uh," _would you quickly come up with a lie!?_ "The Seniors have a lot of tests coming up. I need to study."

"Oh, that's no problem," Ryuuzaki said and smiled again, normally this time. "You'll only have to work with Ryoma during Tennis practice. I think you're skilled enough not to fall behind, even though you won't be participating in the ordinary practice for a little while. And in any case, we need Ryoma back." Her face changed and grew a little darker. "And he needs tennis back."

Fuji stared at her, realizing how much she cared about Ryoma.

"Won't you help him?" Her stern eyes turned to him, and before he knew what he was doing, he nodded.

"I'll help him."

* * *

'Believe me, Ryoma, I don't like this any more than you do,' Fuji thought bitterly to himself as Ryoma walked towards him over the tennis court.

Tezuka had just explained the situation to the others, and now there was no going back. Ryoma didn't look happy. Although he technically didn't look angry or sad either. But that was thing - this emotionless mask was the worst expression Ryoma could wear. It gave Fuji the creeps, cuz he had no chance of reading Ryoma. He had no idea what the younger was thinking or feeling. And that's what scared him.

So he didn't look at Ryoma even once during their short walk to court three. Ryoma didn't look at him either. And none of them said anything. It was indeed, a very awkward silence. Fuji watched as Ryoma swung his racquet a few times and flexed his arms and legs. He grit his teeth and picked up a ball from his pocket.

"We'll start with something simple, okay?" He said and tried his best to sound unconcerned and calm. Ryoma flinched a little, and it kinda hurt a little. It was as if Ryoma hated being there, alone, with him. Was his presence really that irking? But Ryoma nodded with a slightly grumpy expression, and Fuji calmed down.

"Take it," he said and held the ball out for Ryoma to take. Ryoma stared at the ground for a few seconds without moving, just like a defiant child being told to go to bed. But then, just as Fuji was about to give up, Ryoma extended his own, thin arm and gently grabbed the ball. His fingers were warmer than Fuji's.

The young tennis player stared at the ball for a second before putting it under his nose and inhaled the scent. Fuji couldn't help but to smile. He also loved the scent of a new tennis ball. Ryoma stopped sniffing the tennis ball, looking a bit embarrassed and turned his face away.

"Considering how much you seemed to enjoy the smell of that ball, I'm sure you wanna get back to playing tennis as soon as possible. Am I right?"

"Hn." Ryoma's reply was a mere grunt, but for some reason, this caused a small jump to Fuji's heart. But the fact that Ryoma wouldn't look at him felt worse. Fuji's smile paled and he lowered his head a little.

"So... please put your anger aside during training, okay? I know you're still angry with me... And I... I can't really do anything about that right now. But I wanna help you. Tennis practice isn't the same without you."

Ryoma stared at the ground. Fuji could see the faint glow on his cheeks. His chest started aching a little again. He would never have thought he could cause such damage, just by playing around a little.

"I..." Ryoma suddenly started talking, and Fuji jumped a little. Ryoma still glared at the ground when he continued.

"I was angry... Sorry. Even though you apologized and everything..." Ryoma murmured and kicked on the ground. "I was really pissed, and I think that it's been hard for me to face you... I think I might've even wanted to be angry with you."

Fuji blinked and tried to look curious, even though he felt like he wanted to go and hide, so that no one could see how he shook from nervousness. What was happening? Was Ryoma finally going to start talking to him again? Oh, please, let that be the case! Fuji couldn't quite explain the joy he felt, but he was certain it had more to do with the fact that Ryoma was actually speaking to him, than the fact that they were patching up their damaged friendship.

"Look", Ryoma said and met Fuji's gaze. Another nervous tremble went through him. "You know how I feel about you. Let's not make a big deal out of it... You know how I feel about you, and I know that you don't feel the same way. What you said to me that day hurt badly, and I was already pretty upset with you for that incredibly lame date and everything, and- don't interrupt me," Fuji was going to explain how much of an asshole he felt for saying those things, but Ryoma put his hand up to prevent this. "To be honest I think I sort of wanted to stay angry with you, cuz it'd make it easier to get over you." Ryoma sighed and brought a hand behind his head to scratch his neck. The pale, thin, elegant neck that looked almost like a girl's neck... Ryoma looked embarrassed. So unlike him.

"But it was tiring, being angry all the time..." He gave Fuji a long stare and extended his hand. "Friends?"

Fuji felt positively shocked - Ryoma never really talked about how he felt. Ever. And now he had given a speech that more or less explained exactly how he felt about him, about everything... And Fuji couldn't do anything but to gape and nod. Ryoma's cheeks glowed.

"Friends. If you want us to be." Fuji grabbed his hand and Ryoma nodded. The younger tennis player's hand was small and delicate in his. But before Fuji could define what the hell he was feeling, he let go of the small hand and put his hands in his pockets. He felt safe there. He smiled, feeling lighter and more confused, than he had done in a very long time.

"Let's train."

"Yep."

They began training, and although it was clear how much Ryoma resented the methods, like bouncing the ball and then catching it - as Fuji realized that it was only balls in motion that Ryoma was afraid of - Ryoma did whatever Fuji told him to do.

* * *

"Ryoma, you..!"

"I know!" Ryoma said, and for the first time in a very long time, he laughed. Loudly and happily, Ryoma laughed and did a silly twirl on the spot.

He looked to genuinely happy that Fuji also began to smile and the joy that crushed upon them both was almost painful. Fuji had actually done it - he had helped Ryoma, for real!

"I can play tennis again!"

Fuji ran over to his side of the court, grinning, eyes open for once, and before he knew what he was doing he had already thrown his arms around the freshman.

"I knew you could do it!" He said, pulled back from the flushed thirteen year-old, and ruffled Ryoma's hair. "I knew it... You're our wonder-kid, after all, you..." Fuji went silent, and the smile seemed to melt a little. Having Ryoma so close suddenly felt... strange. Not bad. Ryoma had really long eyelashes...

Finally realizing how numb his mind had gone, and for how many seconds he had spent just staring at Ryoma's face, Fuji swallowed. Nervousness and electricity spread throughout his body. How come he never noticed how good-looking Ryoma was? The dark hair, the cold eyes and the lean body.

However...! Fuji backed off and gave a nervous laugh. This was not the time to think about such things! Ryoma was, after all, a boy. And Fuji had definitely established that he was not gay, period. Right? Hadn't he?

Which was why, when Ryoma was getting ready to excuse himself, Fuji felt quite shocked as he suddenly blurted;

"Third time's a charm, right?" Okay, he did _so_ not intend to say that. So why did he?

"... Huh?" Ryoma blinked and stared at him. The younger took a firmer grip of his raquet and took a step back, getting ready to leave.

"Third time's... I mean..." Fuji's eyes darted to everything around Ryoma, except the boy himself. Damnit, just _look_ at the boy! Be a man! "Wouldyouliket'go'ndatewime?"

"What?" Ryoma's voice was weak. Fuji noticed this, as the hand that had previously been rubbing the back of his head fell to his side, and his face went serious for a second. His chest hurt.

What the hell was he thinking?! First off - he wasn't in love with Ryoma! He knew this for a fact. Okay, so maybe he felt light and warm whenever Ryoma was around, and maybe he thought Ryoma was _fairly_ good-looking... But...

It didn't even matter, Fuji realized. Even if he actually was in love for real this time... He seriously didn't have the right to ask Ryoma out again, after everything that had happened.

He put on his biggest smile and did what he did best - pretended nothing was wrong.

"Nothing... Nothing, I just... We should go out celebrate this, tonight! Hey, you guys!" Fuji yelled to their teammates on the other courts. "Ryoma's all better! Let's go out for pizza tonight!"

He wasn't looking, but he could feel the glare on his neck from behind him. He could only pray to the gods that Ryoma hadn't heard what he said.

_Fuji... You idiot_.

* * *

"We'll be taking our leave now!" Oishi said and smiled when Eiji gave a big grin and a wave.

"See you guys tomorrooow!"

The golden pair took their leave, still bickering slightly and laughing. The team had been out for pizza, to celebrate Ryoma's recovery, and now they were on their way home. The others had already left, and Fuji cursed his bad luck - why did his house have to be so close to Ryoma's?

"They look so comfortable around each other..." Ryoma suddenly said and stared after Eiji and Oishi. He looked somewhat fascinated at the sight. Fuji smiled and also turned his gaze to them.

"They're in love," Fuji said, having known about it for quite some time. "Of course they're comfortable around each other."

"They're together?!" Ryoma asked, sounding bewildered. The younger tennis player had a slight blush on his face. Fuji gave a soft laugh.

"I didn't say that. I said that they're in love with each other." He gave Ryoma a mysterious smile. "They just don't know it yet."

Ryoma blinked and turned his gaze to Oishi and Eiji again.

"Shall we walk?" Fuji said to Ryoma, who had slowed down a little while staring after Oishi and Eiji. They spent a few minutes in silence. Strangely enough, even though it was awkward, Fuji liked it. Fuji could hear music from somewhere. He smiled, and felt kinda peaceful.

"I heard what you said earlier."

The peacefulness went away in the blink of an eye. A cold hand gripped Fuji's heart, and a feeling similar to panic made it difficult to breathe for a second. He stared at Ryoma, but gathered his composure and smiled.

"... You did, huh? Well... Just forget about it. It was just a... stupid idea. Just randomly... um... Forget it."

Please, please forget about it. Really... Forget about it, never mention it again, and let me forget about it, too.

Ryoma didn't say anything. They kept walking. Fuji had tucked his hands into his pants.

"I hope they get together," Ryoma said, watching the stars above them with a bored expression. Fuji turned to look a him.

"Hm? Who?"

"Oishi and Eiji. I hope they figure it out soon, so that they can be together for real." Ryoma said, tucking his hands into his pockets as well. This was unusual. Fuji watched his kouhai wear such a calm expression. As if he wanted to believe that love indeed was the greatest gift. All the bullshit they fed you with when you were little. All the stupid movies, and books.

Love was torture. Then again... Fuji had never been in love, so maybe he wasn't really one to speak.

"... It's not always that easy. It can be complicated," Fuji murmured after a few seconds, trying not to sound too bitter.

Ryoma snorted and turned to look at Fuji with a cocky grin, that for some reason made Fuji's heart jump a little.

"I don't think so. Love isn't complicated, unless you want it to be." Ryoma stopped and shrugged. "This is my house," he said and glanced towards the large house behind him. He turned back to Fuji. "See you tomorrow, senpai."

And then he gave Fuji one of his rare, honest, and quite small smiles before he turned around and walked to his front door, leaving a gaping Fuji-senpai behind.

* * *

"Oh shut up!" Momo laughed and gave Ryoma a teasing push. "I do not look like a hedgehog! This is just how my hair looks."

"Maybe you should try combing it once in a while," Fuji teased and took a sip from his coke. Ryoma sniggered at the comment and sent his best friend an amused glance.

"I have to agree with Fuji-senpai," he said and shrugged. "I guess some people are born ugly."

Fuji laughed and watched the two best friends bicker. He felt warm on the inside. Everything had turned back to normal over the past few days. The fact that Fuji had almost asked Ryoma out again seemed to be forgotten. He felt relieved at this. The strange feelings he had been experiencing lately was probably due to curiosity. They would go away. Probably. Hopefully.

Fuji watched Ryoma as the younger boy laughed when Momo tried to wrestle him down, yelling "who's ugly?!"

Ryoma's gaze suddenly locked with his own, and he felt entranced by the light brown orbs... Then he turned it away, pretending not to have noticed how warm he suddenly felt, and how foggy his mind had felt when Ryoma looked at him.

The strange feelings.

Again and again... It had been like this for a while now. And it was alien, frightening and somewhat sweet. Lately, Fuji had started to like it when Ryoma looked at him. Fuji even caught himself looking for Ryoma during recess, just so that the younger teenis player could look at him some more. Laughing together, talking... But never touching. Fuji was careful around Ryoma, even though he wanted to spend time with him.

Fuji figured that it was possible that since he and Ryoma had been on bad terms until recently, it felt good to be able to hang out again. Because he did like Ryoma a lot. Just not like that. Fuji smiled to himself and nodded mentally. Definitely not like that. He continued to watch the boys wrestle and took another sip from his bottle.

Then they all flinched at a very shrill yell.

"RYOMAAA!!"

Momo was pushed away from Ryoma's back and Fuji stared wide-eyed as an unfamiliar boy with blonde, pointy hair and gray eyes threw his arms around his kouhai.

"_Oh my God, I missed you so much!"_ The boy exclaimed in english. Ryoma looked just as shocked as Momo did and tugged at the boy's arms.

_"Sebastian? What are you doing here?"_

The obviously american boy pouted and faked a hurt expression.

"_You're so cold! I missed you, duh!" _He snuggled closer to Ryoma and buried his nose in Ryoma's neck, with an expression that actually resembled peace. As if he had been on the verge of death, but Ryoma brought him back to life. As if he loved Ryoma.

Although Fuji was clever enough to realize that the new kid was probably just extremely dramatic - probably a member of some drama club back where he came from - this action annoyed him. Ryoma looked slightly annoyed, bored even, but then Fuji noticed, with a sting, that there was amusement in Ryoma's eyes. Affection. The fact that he accepted the silly behaviour from the other boy simply showed how much he was used to it. Used to having a nose buried into his neck. Fuji grit his teeth and tried to smile.

"_Ryoma, won't you introduce us?"_ Fuji spoke in english and gave the new boy an innocent smile. The blond one grinned and reached his hand out for Fuji to shake.

"_I'm Sebastian! I'm Ryoma's L-O-V-E-R-"_

_"Sebastian, shut up!"_ Ryoma looked even more annoyed, while Sebastian laughed and stuck his tongue out. Ryoma frowned and rubbed the side of his neck.

"_We were in the same class back in America,"_ Ryoma explained and sighed. "_I never expected him to actually fly out here."_

"_Ryoma! We weren't just in the same class_," Sebastian pouted. "_We were best friends! There wasn't a day where Ryoma and I were separated. To explain it in a way that you japs can understand - I'm Yang and Ryoma is Yin."_

"_Yin and Yang was originally a Chinese belief, Seb_-" Ryoma murmured and rolled his eyes when Sebastian continued his very dramatic story about the glory days when Ryoma was still in America.

"_Whatever! We belong together, so I just couldn't stand another day without my precious b-f-f!"_

"_B-f-f?"_ Momo asked, and Fuji sent the hedgehog a surprised look. From what he had heard, Momo had always had troubles with English.

"_Best-friend-forever!" _Sebastian explained and nuzzled Ryoma's cheek. "_Ryoma is mine forever!"_ He gave a dramatic, evil laughter at this, as if he had just said something very wicked. Fuji raised an eyebrow and smiled to Ryoma, even though he could feel the vein on his forehead starting to pulsate. This was unusual. No one ever saw Fuji's angry-vein. But this was really ticking him off. And why wasn't Ryoma pushing the boy away from him?

"_How long will you be here?"_ Ryoma asked and gave a tired sigh. Sebastian smiled and finally let go of Ryoma's neck.

"_Actually, I won't be here for long. My dad is here on a business trip, and when I heard that he was going to Japan, I asked if I could tag along. I haven't seen in you in almost a year, dude!" _Sebastian suddenly acted like a normal teen, and grabbed Ryoma's Ponta to help himself. "_We're staying in Tokyo right now. I'll be here for like... Three days, maybe?" _He grinned and brought his bag out. "_And look what I brought!"_

Fuji's eyes snapped open when the kid brought out a tennis racquet and two tennis balls. The annoying brat was a tennis player, too?!

What was even more annoying was the fact that Ryoma was actually smiling to this! As if he was delighted! What? Why? Fuji thought he knew everything about Ryoma, so how come... How come the normally stoic Ryoma could smile like that, just because one of the Americans came to visit?!

_"It's been a while. Do you have time to kick my ass?"_ Sebastian asked and gave Ryoma a teasing smirk. "_However, I must warn you. You'll always be the most awesome, Ryoma dearest, but I've gotten better!"_

"_I'm sure you have,"_ Ryoma smirked and got up from the ground. _"But so have I."_

The two younger boys left Momo and Fuji and walked towards the tennis fields. Fuji stared after them. Ryoma turned back and yelled:

"Do you wanna come and watch me win over this loser?"

"I do!" Momo got up and grinned while he ran to Ryoma and Sebastian. Fuji was still too numb to smile. So he just shook his head, turned away from Ryoma and walked in another direction. Where to go? Where should he go? He needed some place where no one could see him. Quickly!

Behind the school cafeteria! Hurry. No one must see this side of you.

_Fuji is my name, Fuji is me. Flawless, perfect, I do not show emotions._ Maintain my image, I'm not weak.

"Fuck..." Fuji sunk to the ground as soon as he got to the shaded part behind the cafeteria, where the cooks were preparing their lunch just about now. "Fuck!" He was trembling. What was that about? Ryoma almost never let anyone touch him, but Sebastian was apparently an exception.

And why was he so upset? Fuji stared at his trembling hands and buried his face into them. He took a few calming breaths.

Did he actually think that Ryoma favoured Fuji above all else? That Fuji was in fact Ryoma's favourite person, and that Ryoma didn't want anyone to touch him like that, except for Fuji?

Did Fuji really believe he had that kind of power over Ryoma?

Was that the reason he couldn't stand to watch as another person buried his nose against Ryoma's pale neck, and smelled his hair.

Even though he knew that Sebastian was only a friend.

What did it mean?! _Why_ couldn't he stand it?! The answer was so clear, even to a person who wasn't even half as smart as Fuji. Yet he refused to admit it to himself.

"I'm being overly possessive? Because… he is my kouhai?" _Yeah, keep telling yourself that._

Fuji continued to take deep breaths. Tried to figure it out. Calm the turmoil inside.

"This is stupid," he murmured into his hands. "This is insane. It's just his friend from America, for crying out loud," he whispered to himself. "You're not jealous, you're just... a bit shocked. Yep. Surprised that Ryoma had someone like... that..."

_I'm not jealous! I just don't like that guy... He's too immature. Too weird. He touches Ryoma too much. And that's why I'm definitely not jealous!_

"Fuck this."

Fuji stood up and enjoyed the lukewarm breeze and the sound of the wind blowing through the leafs.

The next three minutes, he spent mentally trying to convince himself that he had no romantic feelings for Ryoma what so ever.

But…

_If that really was the case, I wouldn't have to try so hard to convince myself that I'm not in love. I wouldn't have to have these stupid conversatiosn with myself, just to make sure that I don't like him that way. What's so wrong about it anyways?_

EVERYTHING. Everything is wrong.

Gay… Gay? It's messed up. It's cool, as long as it's not me.

A boy? After all the girls I've dated? No way.

But what about Ryoma? What about all the times I made sure to be where he was, just because I wanted him to look at me?

The answer is clear, Syuusuke, old friend. Don't insult your own intelligence. Face you feelings, you coward!

"It's sick..." Fuji mumbled and flinched when a brownish, dead leaf landed on his forehead. "I'm not gay."

_No, that's not the case; I don't _want_ to be gay. There's a difference. I'm not homophobic. I don't have issues with gay people. So why does it seem so impossible to me?_"I'm shrinking myself," Fuji snorted and let his hair cover his eyes. "I could totally become a psychologist."

Maybe... I'm just afraid. Of what? God ,I am so lame.

He turned his gaze to the sky and gave a hollow smile.

"But apparently, I need a lot of work before I can figure myself out." He stared at the sky for a few seconds. "I'm even talking to myself. I must be insane."

_Insane, or in love?_

"Shut up." Fuji sighed and started walking towards the tennis fields where Ryoma and Sebastian were still playing. Momo and some other students had gathered around the fence to watch the game. Fuji joined them and watched as Ryoma delivered a hard and quick shot to Sebastian who just barely missed it and cursed loudly in english.

"Ryoma wins!" Momo yelled.

Ryoma grinned and pointed his raquet to the blond one.

"_You still have a ways to go."_

Fuji smiled upon hearing the English version of 'Mada mada dane'. Ryoma's trademark. The match was over and the two youngsters shook hands above the net. Fuji watched the glowing cheeks and the competitive look they gave each other. And that's when he realized that there was nothing to worry about. Because they were best friends. Nothing more.

And just as Fuji was about to realize how happy he felt about this fact, Ryoma's gaze suddenly locked with his, and the younger tennis player gave a cocky smile.

And before Fuji could prevent it from happening, his chest filled with warmth, and he blushed.

tbc.

* * *

Tadaaa! ^^ Whattaya think? I've been thinking about bringing one of Ryoma's american friends into the picture, but Sebastian will only be in this chapter, and just a little in the next one. His purpose was actyally to let Fuji get a taste of jealousy, and hey - it worked! :D  
And we're done with the flashbacks, so next chapter will only pick up where we left. ^^  
Fuji is FINALLY starting to understand that he might actually be in love with Ryoma. How will he handle it? Hmm? Read the next chapter and find out!

REVIEW, ok? :D


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own Prince of Tennis.

I do own this piece of fiction, and any character that may be involved, that is not from the original story (such as Sebastian).

AND - I also own a brand new laptop! ;) MAN, have I missed you guys! The last couple of months have been... stressful. I've moved back home, I'm aborting my college education (I chose the wrong program... Film And Literature SOUNDS like fun, but it's sooo boring!), and... I just got fired from my job. -_-' Heh. Pathetic, much? HOWEVER - it wasn't my fault, and I'm actually serious. My mom is really pissed at my ex-boss, cuz she had no reason what so ever to fire me. I didn't get a warning. So, basically, she fired me cuz she didn't like me. Awesome.

.... Yeah.

Oh, and I still have to do my last college exams, cuz otherwise, CSN (a company who lends students money) will demand all the money that they have borrowed me back - in three weeks. And it's like 3000 dollars! So yes - I am quite stressed out.

Ugh! Sorry, needed to get it off my chest.

Here's (finally) chapter 10!

* * *

"So... I'll see you in spring again?" Sebastian said and grinned to Ryoma, who sighed and smiled back to his best friend.

"Yeah, yeah... I'll come visit you. Just in time for your birthday, okay?"

"Yay!" Sebastian did a funny twirl and hugged Ryoma close. "And if you want, you can bring your hunky boyfriend with you," he whispered and gave the crestfallen Ryoma a wink.

"M-my hunky..? What!?"

Sebastian stared at Ryoma with a surprised expression. Ryoma stared back with a shocked one.

"The guy with brown hair... and squinting eyes. What's his name... Fiji?"

"... Fuji..."

"THAT'S the one!" Sebastian grinned and patted Ryoma's shoulder. "He's a catch, right? I mean, from a girl's perspective... or a gay guy's... But Ryoma," he continued with a serious expression, not taking notice of Ryoma's still shocked face. "I never knew you were like that! You should've told me, I could've handled it! I mean, I'm not gay, but I think it's totally cool that you are, and-"

"Sebastian," Ryoma hissed, feeling a blush spreading over his cheeks. "We're in the middle of the street. Do you really need to speak that loud?"

"Oh!" The blonde American put a hand over his mouth. "Sorry," he whispered dramatically.

"And furthermore," Ryoma sighed and rubbed a spot on his forehead where a vein had started swelling. "Fuji Syuusuke is not my boyfriend."

"... He's not?" Sebastian sounded genuinely surprised. Ryoma blinked and put his hands in his pockets before replying with a lazy, uncaring expression.

"No? Why..." Ryoma turned his gaze to the ground to prevent his best friend from witnessing his faint blush. "What made you think he is?"

"You mean _apart_ from the glares he sent me as soon as I even talked to you?" Sebastian asked with a sarcastic smile. "I'm not blind, Ryoma. But maybe you are."

"Gee, sorry for not acting like a girl, decoding all the signals..." Ryoma sniffed with an annoyed face. "This is stupid."

The boys were silent for a minute. Ryoma was stubbornly staring at the very interesting chewing gum on the ground, while Sebastian chose to observe the sushi store on the other side of the street.

"You didn't deny it."

Ryoma snapped his head back to Sebastian who observed him with a serious face.

"What?"

"That you're gay. You still haven't denied it."

The were silent some more. But this time, they stared at each other. Ryoma didn't know what to say, and Sebastian only looked... serious. Which was very unusual. Ryoma had always said that Sebastian had been acting for far too long, and somewhere along the road, he had forgotten the real him. Sebastian used to laugh at it, and say something like 'I didn't lose my own personality, I just gained a few more!'

"I'm not gay," Ryoma whispered, but it was stiff, cold and very flat. He bit his lip and stared at the ground with angry eyes.

"Ryoma-"

"Shut up." Something welled up inside of Ryoma. Something hot, ugly and angry. It wasn't that Ryoma was in denial. He knew he wasn't straight. He had known all along. Of course he wasn't straight - he was in love with another boy! He wasn't stupid. However... To say something like that out loud - and to a childhood friend - was... much more difficult than just knowing deep down.

"Ryoma, it's okay-"

"I said, shut up!" Ryoma gave Sebastian an angry glare. "You're pissing me off. What does it matter what I am? It _doesn't_ matter, does it? I just _like_ some people... and... And I don't wanna talk about it!"

"You never want to talk about stuff like that!" Sebastian replied, equally angry and Ryoma was taken aback. "It's like that time when your parents were fighting over where you were going to live. Your dad wanted to move to japan, and your mom wanted to stay in America. I could tell how stressed out you were, but you still didn't want to talk me! Your own best friend! And now we get to see each other for the first time in ages, and you can't even admit to me that you like guys? What the hell, Ryoma? I even admitted to you that I was in love with Miss Peterson."

Three seconds of shocked silence went by, before the boys started laughing at the silly memories of Sebastian writing stupid but passionate love poems and dropped them off in Miss Peterson's mailbox and then running like hell before anyone saw him. After the laughter had died out, Sebastian gave Ryoma's shoulder another pat.

"You can tell me. You _know_ me. Why don't you just admit it? You're queer, Ryoma."

Another blush spread over Ryoma's usually pale face and the tennis genius turned his gaze to the asphalt a little while before facing Sebastian again.

"Fine. I like guys. There, you happy?" Ryoma said and gave Sebastian a mock-annoyed look. "But Fuji and I are history. It's embarrassing to talk about," Ryoma pulled his cap down a little and sighed. "It was all drama. Like dating a girl... except I was the drama queen. And I hate it. Yuck. And Fuji had his chance, okay? Thanks to that guy, my ribs broke, and-"

"Wait, what? He broke your ribs?!" Sebastian gave Ryoma a shocked stare. Ryoma gave a short laugh and shook his head.

"No, it happened during a tennis match. He and I had a massive fight just minutes before, and I was still so pissed off that I... uh... well, I suppose it's my fault, too. I wouldn't take his advice, and as a result, a tennis ball crashed into my chest. But you wouldn't believe the things he said to me. I've never..." Ryoma went silent and glared at the ground. "I didn't think words could hurt that much."

"What did he say?" Sebastian asked and gave Ryoma a careful glance.

"It doesn't matter. Everything was a mess. It was stupid, is all. And then I got scared of playing tennis... heh, funny, isn't it? Someone made Fuji help me get back into the game... he helped me... and now we're... friends. Sort of."

"Sort of?" Sebastian asked, looking positively shocked upon hearing Ryoma express so many emotions all at once. The Japanese boy's sentences usually contained three or four words. No more.

"Yes, sort of. Recently... I don't know what we are, exactly." Ryoma took a seat on an empty bench and Sebastian did the same. "It feels weird to talk about it," Ryoma muttered. Sebastian sighed and leaned back to take a look at the leaves that hung over them from the tree behind the bench.

"Yeah... I agree. But it's probably good for you. You never display emotions. Not even to me."

"Well, you're going back home in a few hours, and I trust you're not going to tell anyone about this," Ryoma said and gave Sebastian a warning look. "I'm embarrassed enough as it is."

"So... you were saying?" Sebastian said with an innocent look.

"Uh... Well, after everything that happened, I had already given up on him, but then he asked me out. Again." Ryoma snorted and kicked a stone away.

"He did?"

"Yeah. Just as I finally had overcome my fear of playing tennis, he asked me out..." Ryoma drawled, leaned back with a bored expression and stared at the trembling leaves above them.

"And?" The question made Ryoma smirk and give a short laugh.

"And then he tried to cover it up. Pretend he hadn't said anything." Ryoma snorted. "Stupid coward. But I think..."

"You think...?" Sebastian watched Ryoma with an almost mature expression and Ryoma swallowed. He didn't like having these weird, deep conversations. But if it made Sebastian happy, he supposed he could share a tiny bit of what was going on inside his head.

"Even though he pisses me off, and even though he's acting like a dick sometimes, maybe... He actually does..."

"... Like you?"

Ryoma nodded and watched his own fingers play with each other in a nervous, flinchy dance. A wind ruffled their hair.

"Why don't you ask him?" Sebastian asked carefully. Ryoma sighed and pulled down his sleeves so that his hands were covered. The wind was chilly.

"I don't think that it'll help. I'm not sure that he _wants_ to like me. Or if he even knows it himself."

"Maybe he's in denial?" Sebastian suggested and watched a couple of girls play with their dog a couple of meters away. "Does he have a problem with homosexuals in general?"

"No, that's the thing!" Ryoma exclaimed, frustration laced in his voice, and he leaned against the back of the bench with an annoyed face. "He doesn't think it's wrong - his best friend is gay and Fuji doesn't seem to mind it at all. More like the contrary."

"Hmm..." The American looked at the sky. "Maybe he's too scared of the consequences?"

"Consequences?" Ryoma blinked slowly as he watched the orange and red leaves dance in the wind.

"Every love has its' consequences," Sebastian replied with a strangely sad smile, still facing the purple sky. "It's not a dance on roses, even though being with the person you love makes you happy. That's the thing about love, see?" Sebastian turned to smile at Ryoma, who stared back at him with wide eyes. "Love tends to bring hardship. But as long as you have each other, you can endure every obstacle that comes your way. And that, my friend, is why _love_ is worth fighting for."

Ryoma didn't really know what to say. The sky was getting darker. A few stars were already visible.

"So, you're saying...?"

"You should talk to him. Just to make sure. I want you both to stop acting like immature brats, and face your own emotions. For everyone's sake." That was probably one of the wisest things Sebastian had ever said, and even though Ryoma was fairly sure that his American friend had picked the lines up from some script or a movie somewhere... it kind of made sense.

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I hate being deep," Ryoma muttered and dragged a laugh from Sebastian.

"Yeah, being serious isn't really my cup of tea either."

"So why did you have to force it out of me?" Ryoma smirked to Sebastian. "You know I hate talking about stuff like that."

"Hatred is fear. You hate talking about stuff like that cuz you're scared of it, dude," Sebastian said with an untroubled look on his face. "And as your best friend, I thought of it as my duty to cure your fear."

"You're an asshole," Ryoma drawled, but gave Sebastian a small smile. No one but Sebastian would ever have made Ryoma say so many embarrassing things. And yet, somehow, he was grateful. "We should go."

"Okay."

The sky was even darker now, and it felt somewhat pleasant to walk through the streets. Lights from signs and shop windows made everything colorful and brighter. Ryoma felt like sulking for saying so much... weirdness back there, but at the same time, he was fairly sure that every word he had said was true. Fuji, that bastard. Why did everything have to be so damn complicated with that boy?!

"Hey, Ryoma," Sebastian said and interrupted Ryoma's inner turmoil with a lazy grin. "What if you were to fall for me, huh? I'd make a perfect boyfriend!"

Ryoma smirked and decided to tease his friend back. He batted his lashes and pretended to blush, before reaching for Sebastian's hand. Then he gave his friend a teary look.

"I'm sure you would," he gave a shy smile, and enjoyed the sight of Sebastian suddenly looking very uncomfortable and flustered. Then his shy smile turned back into an evil smirk. "But dude, you're not my type." With an amused snort, he let go of Sebastian's hand and continued to walk, leaving behind his shocked best friend.

"Ryoma!" Sebastian caught up to him and hooked his arm over Ryoma's shoulder. "That was totally mean, you scared the shit out of me!"

* * *

"So Sebastian-san went back home to America, already?" Momo asked and took a bite of the sandwich he had brought to practice. Ryoma nodded and took a swig from his bottle of water. "Too bad, he was fairly good at Tennis."

"Of course he was," Ryoma smirked. "I taught him."

Several freshman were running around on the court, collecting balls while chatting happily amongst each other. Some older students were practicing on the courts further away, while the regulars were having a break. Despite the late autumn, it was a surprisingly warm day. The sun beamed at them, and Ryoma pulled on his cap.

Fuji was talking to Eiji. They were laughing at something. Oishi joined them. Eiji delighted smile widened. Fuji said something, and Oishi laughed, too.

Ryoma caught himself staring and turned his gaze away quickly. Damned Fuji. Stupid prick. He glanced to the older boy again. Fuji drank water from his bottle. Ryoma grit his teeth. Stupid, hot prick.

"Ryoma?" Momo waved a hand in front of Ryoma's face. "What's the matter? You look warm. Your cheeks are all red. You don't have a fever, do you?"

"I'm fine," Ryoma mumbled. "It's the sun."

Why did Fuji have to cause so much trouble? Everything had turned upside down ever since Ryoma started to like him. And that daft prick had made things worse by not getting the picture. And now he wouldn't even let Ryoma get over him like he should? Idiot.

Sebastian's words came back to him and Ryoma grit his teeth once more. Why was this so difficult? Gathering his strength, Ryoma stood up. He could feel his knees wobbling a little. He was nervous, and that made him pissed. It was annoying how such a bastard could make Ryoma feel like that, after everything he had done. He didn't deserve it. But still, Ryoma's legs had already started walking. No turning back now. Ryoma swallowed. Fuji hadn't noticed him yet. Ryoma smirked a little. That was good. Fuji wasn't expecting anything.

"Oi." Ryoma managed to sound just as cool and calm as he wanted to, even though he was so nervous about this he felt like sitting down and curling into himself. Fuji, Eiji and Oishi turned to him. The last mentioned boys smiled to him, but Fuji only gaped.

"O-chibi! What brings you over here?"

"I want to talk to Fuji-senpai. In private," he turned to Fuji with narrow eyes. "If that's alright?" Fuji stared at him, his blue eyes shining prettily to Ryoma. The older nodded and got up from the ground.

"I'll be back in a few, okay?" Fuji said and gave the other two a smile. They nodded, looking curiously at Fuji and Ryoma.

The short walk to the locker room felt like two miles. And they didn't speak at all during the breif walk. Ryoma held his stern gaze at what was in front of him, and refused to look at Fuji. Fuji was also keeping a firm stare in front of him. When they finally reached the door, Ryoma was about to grab the knob, however, Fuji planned on doing the same. Blushing furiously, Ryoma realized that he had grabbed Fuji's hand by mistake. All his coolness went out the window and he retorted his hand, as if he had burned himself.

"J-just open the door, already!" He stammered and stubbornly turned his face away when Fuji sent him a short glance. Damnit all to hell. Why was it so hard?

They entered the locker room and took a seat at opposing benches. They were both staring nervously at the floor. Ryoma, trying to figure out how to start, and Fuji, waiting for Ryoma to punch him. When almost two minutes had passed, Ryoma shut his eyes angrily. Be a man, damnit! He glanced at Fuji, and when he saw the nervous streak in Fuji's face, he suddenly knew how to begin. He stood up and stared calmly at Fuji, who wouldn't meet his gaze just yet. Ryoma's eyes narrowed. Even Fuji was aware of what a jerk he was.

"You're an asshole," Ryoma said, and with certain enjoyment watched how Fuji flinched a little. The older boy leaned back against the wall, and then, after a few seconds, opened his eyes to meet Ryoma's gaze.

"I know."

"You're just pretending to be a saint, while in fact you're nothing but a fucking sadist." Ryoma's normally quiet and hoarse voice had raised a notch. He was getting angry. That wasn't really part of the plan, but what the heck. "You're confusing me, confusing yourself, changing your mind, going back and forth... For fuck's sake, Fuji!" Ryoma pulled his cap off and dragged his hand through his hair. Fuji's gaze had returned to the floor. "Would you please tell me exactly what you want?"

Fuji slowly met his gaze, and Ryoma realized he was staring back. He suddenly felt vulnerable. What would Fuji say. What had Ryoma said? And, oh great, he had started trembling a little from the anger and the nervousness.

"What I want?" Fuji sounded tired, as if he hadn't slept in several days.

"Yeah. What the hell do you want? I'm giving you this one last chance. Be honest, for once!" Ryoma hissed and clenched his fists. "I understand it's weird, okay? I think it's weird. We're both guys. Of course it's a bit weird. Heck, it's weird for me to even like someone! But what's weirder, you know what that is?"

Fuji shook his head. Ryoma could see his hands tremble a little. That calmed him down. Fuji was also scared.

"The weirdest part of this fucking mess is the fact that even though you've said really stupid things to me, and turned me down, and rejected me... I still like you!" Ryoma was breathing a little harder. His eyes were wide and he could hear his heartbeat thumping quickly in his ears. Fuji had frozen. Ryoma continued. He had to, before he got completely drained. This was exhausting. And thrilling. And terrifying.

"For some stupid reason, I happen to be in love with you, you bastard. So I'm giving you this last chance to tell me how you really feel. Okay?" Ryoma swallowed and turned his gaze to the floor. "And if you don't like me back, that's fine, too. I just need to hear it, so that I can get over you. So that I can forget this stupid infatuation! And in that case, you have to leave me alone. So just tell me already! What do you wa-"

"I like you."

Silence.

Ryoma was still gaping from his speech, staring at the floor. Slowly, as if his muscles had forgotten how to move, he turned his face up. Met Fuji's gaze. Fuji didn't smile, but there was a raw honesty behind the calm expression. Blue eyes pierced Ryoma, and he gasped - he had forgotten to breath.

"You... You like me?"

"Yeah."

Ryoma sank back to his bench and stared at the opposing boy. He was blushing. He knew he was, but he didn't have the energy to bother. They just stared at each other. They weren't kissing, or hugging, laughing or even smiling. They just stared.

"... Oh."

* * *

_Riiing..._

Riiing...

"Hello?"

"Sebastian?"

"_Ryoma? Oh my god, have you any idea how expensive it is for you to call me?"_

"Never mind, I just wanted to thank you."

_"Thank me?"_

"Yeah. For that extremely embarrassing conversation we had before you left. As torturing as it was, I think it made me realize things."

_"Yeah? You sound happy. Did something good happen?"_

"You could say that," Ryoma smiled a little and threw a glance to the clock. "I have to go now, or I'll be late!"

_"Late for what?"_

"Dating. Talk to you later!"

_"What?! Ryoma, what are you-"_

- Click

Ryoma gave the mirror one final glance, deemed himself good to go and exited his bedroom. This was Fuji's last chance. Their third date. And as Fuji had said that time - third time's a charm.

TBC

* * *

Hooohohohohohohohohoho! ;) Finally some proper romance! ^^ Hope you liked it. Sorry about the delay. My life's a mess right now.

Please review.


	11. Chapter 11

I don't own Prince of Tennis. Duh.

Warnings: the usual.

A/N: Sorry for the wait. Seriously, I know you hate me for it. But for those of you who are willing to forgive me and continue to read this fic, I advice you to go back a skim through the previous chapters real quick. Otherwise you might not get the picture. Again, sorry for the wait. My life is a fucking mess. I'm serious. I'm scared shitless, cuz as of right now, I'm really confused. I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life. And there's nothing more terrifying than not knowing what to do. God, I miss high school. (cries for a bit)...

I'll manage! ^^ Let's get on with it, ne? (btw, sorry about the bad quality of my chapters lately. I'm extremely discontent with the previous one. I'll probably rewrite it soon. It's just that I'm stressed. I'll do my best!)

* * *

Fuji p.o.v.

Fuji Syuusuke sighed heavily to make himself calm down. He watched his breath turn into brief clouds of steam. The air was cold. Even so, Fuji Syuusuke felt warm. Too warm.

"Jeez..." He sighed to himself and pulled at the collar to his jacket. "Stop worrying already... It's not like you don't know how to date."

_True, but do you know how to date a guy?_

Fuji's lips tensed and pressed together as the blush that already decorated his cheeks became deeper, warmer. Fuji brought his chin closer to his chest in an attempt to hide. His brown bangs fell over his eyes and effectively hid whatever signs of embarrassment there were. He clenched the fists in his pockets, feeling himself shudder from the cold and nervousness, but suddenly relaxed a little. He brought his right hand up and opened the tight fist he had made. He stared at the small object for a few seconds. Then he smiled and brought his hand back to his pocket. He closed his eyes briefly in yet another attempt to calm himself.

"Did you fall asleep or something?"

The sudden sound of Ryoma's voice made Fuji jerk and open his eyes comically wide, pressing closer to the wall, as if he wanted to run away. But as his gaze finally settled on Ryoma's face, he relaxed a little. Ryoma was smiling. It was rare, odd, and strangely comforting. The younger tennis player quirked an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side as his smile quickly turned into a smirk.

"I know I'm a few minutes late, but if you felt that sleepy you should've called me."

Fuji didn't say anything, or even react to Ryoma's smug comment. Fuji had more important things to focus on. Such as keeping his blush at a safe distance, and remembering how to breathe properly. Ryoma was dressed in dark blue jeans and had black sneakers. The jacket Ryoma wore hid the shirt he was wearing, and he wasn't wearing his cap. He didn't look astonishing or anything. Fuji frowned a little to himself.

Ryoma looked normal. Perfectly normal. So why did the mere sight make Fuji's heart beat a little faster? How come Ryoma looked so good, even though he looked more or less like he usually did? Why now? What had changed? A brief gust of cold wind made Ryoma's black hair flutter softly around a confusedly frowning face.

"Fuji?"

Fuji flinched and realized that he had been spacing out.

"Ah-h, sorry!" He rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. Ryoma sniffed a little.

"It's cold. We should get going." Ryoma turned to start walking and gave Fuji a glance.

"Yeah," Fuji agreed and walked up next to Ryoma. The next couple of minutes were spent in silence as they walked past several restaurants, game halls and karaoke bars. Fuji swallowed and glanced carefully to Ryoma. The younger's nose was red from the cold and the goldish eyes stared straight ahead. Fuji found himself unable to look away. All of a sudden, he noticed the way Ryoma's hair curled around his ears and neck, and the way Ryoma's jaw had started to form into a sharper, more adult shape.

Ryoma suddenly glanced back and Fuji quickly averted his gaze to the street they were walking on.

"What is it?" Ryoma asked. Fuji shook his head and gave a brief smile.

"Nothing."

"Ah! We're here," Ryoma exclaimed and smiled as he pointed to a restaurant a few meters ahead. Fuji smiled as well and followed Ryoma inside. It was a traditional sushi restaurant, and Ryoma had picked it out. Fuji hadn't opposed, since he loved sushi. They could've opted for Takashi's family restaurant, but Fuji understood why Ryoma didn't want to go there. Chances were that Takashi would be working there tonight. Takashi might've figured out that they were dating, and that was something that neither of them was ready for.

"What a nice atmosphere," Fuji said approvingly as they sat down by one of the tables. Ryoma nodded and took his jacket off, revealing a normal black t-shirt. For reasons Fuji was still struggling to come to terms with, that black t-shirt seemed to look perfect on Ryoma. A simple black t-shirt. Ryoma's eyelashes fluttered a little as he read the menu that was already placed on the table. Fuji's gaze wandered over the fine skin of Ryoma's cheeks, down to the mouth that were silently mouthing the words he read, down to the jaw, down to the neck, down to what was revealed of Ryoma's collarbones.

The older tennis player swallowed, tore his gaze away, and waved to one of the waitresses. She quickly bounced up to them, gave them a beaming smile and brought her notebook up, ready to take their order.

"Can I take your order?"

Ryoma looked up from the menu and gave her a polite smile before glancing to Fuji.

"I want a number fourteen without wasabi, and a ponta," Ryoma said and turned to Fuji, as did the bouncing girl who seemed to smile even wider when Fuji met her gaze. Fuji sighed and skimmed through the menu quickly.

"I'll take a number fourteen _with_ wasabi, and a coke." Fuji smiled briefly to the girl who scribbled down their orders before she gave him a wide smile again. She continued to look at Fuji for another second before she finally walked away, looking slightly bummed. Ryoma watched her leave with narrowing eyes.

"She looked like she was ready to eat _you_," he mumbled without meeting Fuji's eyes. Fuji placed his elbows on the table, and turned to look at the disappearing waitress.

"Hm? I didn't notice," he said and turned back to Ryoma who still opted to pay his fork a decent amount of attention instead of meeting Fuji's gaze.

"She did. You're probably so used to having girls' attention you didn't see it..." Ryoma muttered and turned his gaze to the side with a very slight blush. Eyes narrowed, shoulders tensed and brows furrowed. Strangely, Fuji found himself wanting to smile.

"Or maybe I simply didn't feel like paying her attention." Fuji leaned back in his chair and brought his hands together on the table. His fingers started fiddling. "I'm here with you, aren't I?" He said, watching his fingers as if they were doing something more interesting than rubbing against each other. Breathing suddenly became just a little bit harder. He glanced quickly at Ryoma, who still wasn't meeting Fuji's gaze, but the blush on Ryoma's cheeks told Fuji that Ryoma was content with his answer.

Fuji smiled to himself. A strange but comfortable silence settled around them as they waited for their food. They didn't even look at each other, but Fuji could still feel how his heartbeats picked up speed. It was actually quite ridiculous. If this had been a couple of months back, Fuji would have snorted out loud at his own behavior. But he couldn't bring himself to act the way he usually did when he dated someone. Perhaps because he somehow suspected Ryoma to be able to see through the act. Or perhaps because the situation was so different.

Usually, when Fuji found himself in similar scenarios - dating on a restaurant - it was together with a furiously blushing girl who wouldn't shut up about trivial matters, only because she was terrified of boring Fuji. Some of them had even tried to study a bit about tennis, in a desperate attempt to make Fuji believe that they were destined to be. Girls would dress up, wear perfume and make-up, and they would eat salad.

This was entirely different.

Fuji glanced at Ryoma, who was currently watching some of the other guests with a uninterested look on his face. Ryoma hadn't dressed up. Sure, they had both picked out decent outfits, but who would be stupid enough to go on a date in a school uniform? Ryoma wasn't wearing make-up. He hadn't really done anything with his hair, which somehow perfectly framed the young face in a young, devil-may-care way. Yes, Ryoma looked the way he normally did. Fuji realized that he liked it. It felt much more natural than all those dates he had suffered with walking, talking manikins.

"Sorry for the wait!" The waitress chirped and placed their food and drinks on the table. "Hope you'll enjoy!" She left again, with a lingering glance on Fuji. Ryoma glared after her and Fuji was unable to contain an amused chuckle.

"What?" Ryoma muttered but look slightly embarrassed. Fuji shrugged and grasped his chop sticks.

"I never knew you were the jealous type."

"I'm not... _jealous_," Ryoma exclaimed and made a face at the last word, as if it tasted bad in his mouth. "I just don't like bouncy, overly happy girls like her."

"Actually," Fuji said before picking up a piece of his sushi, "you don't like any girls. Us dating is a result of that."

For a second Fuji thought Ryoma looked annoyed, but his eyes were glittering with amusement. Ryoma snorted briefly and started eating.

"You have a point there."

"Of course I do," Fuji said after swallowing the food. "I always have a point. Because I'm smarter than everyone else," he joked and Ryoma gave a quick laugh.

"Oh yes, obviously. Our school should be proud to have a god-like student like yourself attending classes there on a daily basis."

Fuji put on a troubled face and sighed heavily.

"Yes, I know. I tried talking to the principle about it, but he didn't seem to understand me."

Ryoma nodded solemnly.

"The gods will unleash their wrath upon our foolish, disrespectful headmaster."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, both wearing deadly serious expressions, before finally cracking up. Fuji watched Ryoma laugh and his stomach lurched. Ryoma didn't laugh often. He was a master at holding it in. So it was a rare treat to finally see the younger teen's eyes shimmer with joy, narrowing a little as the mouth grinned delightfully. A fresh blush lingered on Ryoma's cheeks, even after the laughter died out.

"How was school today, by the way?" Fuji asked and Ryoma shrugged, poking his sushi roll with his chop sticks.

"Okay, I guess. But English is a pain."

"English?" Fuji stopped mid-air with his food inches from his mouth. "You're half American. Shouldn't it be piece a cake? You're fluent, aren't you?"

Ryoma sighed with an annoyed expression and took a swig of his ponta.

"Yeah, I am. But our teacher seems to believe that just because I'm fluent in English, I automatically love the subject."

"And?"

"And so he always makes me do extra assignments. They're all really easy, but it's more like... It's just unfair. I get more homework than my classmates do, just because I happen to be better at English. What the heck is up with that? I don't see any of the math-nerds getting more assignments during math-class." Ryoma gave a sour pout. "And he always uses me as an example, I always have to do the things my peers can't do, like reading sentences from books and such..." Ryoma glanced at Fuji and turned back to his food. "Sorry, I'm boring you."

"Actually, I think it's sort of interesting. I didn't know you hated English," Fuji said and brought his coke to his mouth. "I thought I knew you, but turns out I don't. Not really. Actually, now that I think about it, the only thing I know about you for a fact is that you're really good at tennis. And that you're generally pretty grumpy. And that you don't like bouncy girls." Fuji grinned to Ryoma who quirked his eyebrow and smirked back.

"I'm impressed. You have the basics down, so from now on speaking to each other is unnecessary, since you obviously already know all there is to know about me. Let's only use hand signs from now on," Ryoma said and did some strange gestures with his hands. Fuji let out a laugh.

"I'm cool with that. But you'll have to teach me. Was that real dactology?"

"Nah, I made it up just now," Ryoma said and shrugged with an amused smile.

"Now I'm impressed," Fuji chuckled. "Apparently you have a gift for making things up. Anything else I should know about?"

"Nope. You already know _everything_ about me. I'm good at tennis, I'm grumpy, and I don't like annoying girls. And I have a gift for pretending to know sign language. That's pretty much it," Ryoma said and shrugged. "I'm extremely uninteresting."

"Fine. You're uninteresting. Good to know." Fuji took a sip from his coke and swallowed his food. "What do you know about me, then?"

It was meant as a lighthearted question, since they were finally having a proper and quite amusing conversation, but for some reason, Ryoma stilled and became more serious. Fuji also stopped smiling as their gazes finally met.

"I know that you're good at tennis. I know that you're two years older than me. You have an older sister. You like wasabi for some weird reason. You're the only one on our team who is pretty much immune to Inui's energy drinks... You smile a lot, but you're actually kind of scary when you're serious. You have blue eyes. You're good at pretending to be happy. You're confusing. You're used to controlling things. You're smart..." Ryoma stopped ranting and turned his gaze to the plate where most of the food remained. "I know a lot _about_ you, senpai. Yet I feel like don't know you at all."

Fuji had, without realizing it, opened his eyes while Ryoma spoke. Not really knowing how to react, he could only stare for a few seconds. Then he, too, turned to the table.

"Yeah. I know." Fuji sighed and smiled a little. "Hey, I want to play a game."

"Isn't that a line from a horror movie?" Ryoma laughed a little, trying to restore the previously light mood, but Fuji could tell the laugh had a nervous tremble to it.

"I hate horror movies," Fuji said and gave a quick laugh. "There. The game has started. I just revealed something about myself to you. Now it's your turn."

Ryoma's eyes widened a little, and then turned thoughtful, as he was trying to think of something to reveal. Fuji watched him patiently.

"Hmm... I... Have a cat?"

"Uh, yeah, I know that," Fuji dead-panned and let out a laugh. "You're supposed to reveal something that I don't already know."

Ryoma sighed and leaned back with his arms crossed over his chest as he resumed his thoughtful expression.

"Well, in that case, I also hate horror movies. So we have something in common," he said with a barely visible blush. "Last time I watched a horror movie, I couldn't sleep for several days."

Fuji laughed and finished his coke. Ryoma smiled a little and rubbed his nape.

"Your turn."

"Okay, let's see... My favorite color is green. I hate purple."

"I like red and blue. I don't like pink."

"I hate Mondays, because you know that it's just the beginning of the week and you're not even close to the weekend."

"I don't like hot summer days, because it's uncomfortable to play tennis when you're sweating all over."

"I like cooking, but I'm not good at it. I know how to make noodles, though!"

"Impressive," Ryoma smirked. "I know how to cook, but I find it boring." Fuji laughed.

"We'd make a good couple, then."

It wasn't until after the words had left Fuji's lips that he realized he'd made a mistake. Ryoma tensed and stared at his dirty plate. Fuji could only see a little bit of his face, but from what he could see, Ryoma was blushing. Fuji didn't know what to say after ruining such a good mood. He bit his lip. He should say something. Ryoma was embarrassed, and all because Fuji had said something insensitive. Again.

"My turn," Fuji said and smiled as he watched Ryoma trying to force the blush back. "You're the first one I've asked out on a date. Usually, girls ask me out. But not this time."

Ryoma jerked a little and lift his face to look at Fuji. He was still blushing, Fuji noticed, but it didn't seem to bother him very much at the moment. Ryoma's shoulder were tense and the younger tennis player let his gaze dart all over the place, looking at everything but Fuji.

"... You're the first one I've ever gone on a date with." Ryoma said silently, then gave a slight scoff. "Although our previous... _date_ wasn't all that successful." Fuji gave a quick chuckle.

"I should probably thank you for not giving up on an asshole like me," he said with an amused smile, which Ryoma responded to with a cocky smile and a nod.

"Yes, you should," he stated confidently and cocked his head to the side, looking delightfully content. Fuji let out a breathy laugh and glanced at the table before meeting Ryoma's gaze again.

"Thank you."

Ryoma's smirk slowly turned into a softer smile. Fuji found it difficult to breathe again.

"... Don't mention it."

* * *

"So, by the way, I've been meaning to ask you, is it still difficult for you to play tennis?" Fuji asked as they stepped out of the restaurant. Ryoma shrugged and shuddered a little from the cold.

"Not really. I mean, sometimes I feel like ducking, especially when I play Momo-senpai since his shots are so powerful, but as long as I remember to breathe and stay calm, I'm alright."

Fuji nodded and waited for Ryoma to close his jacket before they started walking.

"And the bruise on your chest?"

"Almost completely gone," Ryoma said with a somewhat bored look. Fuji smiled. Ryoma acted like he usually did. It was a relief. Everything felt so natural. Thanks to Ryoma acting so normal, it made Fuji feel like he didn't have to enter charming-boyfriend-mood. Yes, it was truly a relief.

"Glad to hear it."

Ryoma smiled briefly to him and turned back to the street. Fuji watched him for another second before turning his gaze to the sky. It was already dark. Their breath came out as steamy clouds.

"It's getting colder..." Ryoma sighed and gave another shudder. Fuji smiled to the sky before taking a step closer to Ryoma to deliberately bump into the younger teen, making Ryoma stumble a little. "Woah!" Ryoma flailed his arms a little as he regained his balance, before he turned to Fuji with a mock-glare. Fuji grinned innocently. Ryoma grinned back and gently pushed his elbow against Fuji's side.

"Loser."

"Who? Me?"

"Yes, you," Ryoma sniggered. "Who does that anymore?"

"Does what?" Fuji said, still acting like he was completely oblivious to what he had done.

"Bump into people!" Ryoma gave a quick laugh. "Totally lame."

"Yeah, maybe," Fuji said and dropped the act. He turned to Ryoma who was still smiling amusedly. "But it warmed you up, didn't it?" Ryoma's eyes widened as his smile went a little slack. The blush that crept over his cheeks could easily be blamed on the cold air that surrounded them, but Fuji was fairly sure that he has caused the warmth that gathered in Ryoma's eyes. The prince of tennis turned back to the street, still smiling.

"A little."

Ryoma put his hands in the pockets of his jacket before slowly starting to walk closer to Fuji. As the older teen realized what Ryoma was doing, he felt a blush of his own spread briefly over his cheeks and he turned his gaze away, trying to ignore the soft flutters in his chest. The sound of shoes against the asphalt and soft sniffles from Ryoma were the only sounds breaking the silence as they made their way home. Fuji felt how the sleeve of Ryoma's jacket brushed against his with every step they took. They weren't looking at each other, nor were they talking to each other, but that might have been solely due to the fact that the silence was too comfortable to be broken.

After nearly ten minutes of walking in silence through empty streets and cold air, Ryoma's house became visible, and Fuji was surprised to realize that he was disappointed. They would have to part ways already? Despite the fact that it was quite late, and despite the fact that it was cold, he wouldn't mind walking with Ryoma for another ten minutes. Ryoma sniffled again, and Fuji glanced over to the boy he had just been on a date with. Ryoma's nose was turning pink from the cold. Fuji smiled a little. Damn it, it was cute.

They stopped a few meters from Ryoma's gate. Ryoma let out a shuddering sigh.

"It's really cold," he mumbled. "I guess bumping into me only works for a limited amount of minutes." Golden eyes once more shimmered with amusement. Fuji shrugged and smiled a little.

"I'll have to think of something more permanent, then."

"So..." Ryoma glanced to the ground. "Thanks for tonight."

"I hope I did better than I did on our previous date?"

Ryoma nodded but still wouldn't meet Fuji's gaze.

"Way better."

"I'm happy to hear that."

Fuji was just about to reach out and touch Ryoma, but the boy turned to his gate and started walking away. Fuji stared after him, and was overcome by a sudden reluctance to saying good bye. Not yet. He bit his lip before opening his mouth.

"Ryoma!"

Ryoma stopped and turned to Fuji, looking somewhat uncertain. They stood in silence as wind dragged through them and made Ryoma's hair swirl and Fuji's jacket flutter.

"Don't I get a good night kiss?" Fuji recalled what he had said last time they had to part after a date. That time it was meant as a joke. This time was different. Not that he had thought it through. His voice shook a little. He blamed it on the cold. Ryoma's mouth parted as the eyes went wide.

"Do... Do you want one?"

Fuji suddenly felt very lost.

_Say yes._

_Say yes, already._

_What are you waiting for?_

_Is this right? I have never been interested in a guy before._

_If it turns out I'm not gay, I'll just end up hurting him. Again._

_The fact that you're this worried about what could happen, and how he would feel, clearly indicates that he means something to you._

_Take the step. For once in your life._

_Say yes._

"Yes," he croaked hoarsely, feeling weak, like he was coming down with a fever. It was too late to take anything back, and Ryoma's eyes had already gone wider than they were before. And Fuji's legs were moving. Towards. Ryoma. And Ryoma turned to fully face him. And Fuji's right hand cupped the side of Ryoma's face, while the left one grasped Ryoma's shoulder. Their faces came close together, and Fuji could feel Ryoma's breath dance over his skin, causing a tremble to course through him.

Ryoma's hands went up to softly grab Fuji's jacket as they both cocked their heads slightly, and slowly closed their eyes.

Mouths brushed.

At first it was a light touch. But Fuji instantly needed more. So it became a gentle peck. And another one. Ryoma opened his mouth slightly to suck some air in, and Fuji gently pulled the younger one closer, dipping his tongue inside and savoring the short gasp Ryoma gave as they kissed. Breaths mingled, tongues rubbed softly, hands grasped and caressed.

And then it was over. They slowed down, breathing heavier than before, feeling warmer, and more dazed. Fuji was reluctant to opening his eyes. It would break the spell. He pressed his forehead against Ryoma's and breathed in through his nose. When he finally forced his eyes to open, the first thing he saw was Ryoma's pink nose. Then the lazy, dazed eyes. And puffy, well-kissed lips.

"That was one heck of a good night kiss," Fuji said, not very surprised as his voice came out as a whisper. Ryoma gave a brief smile and blinked slowly.

"I... Should go inside now," the younger one said, but the tone of his voice made it obvious that he didn't want to. Fuji's hands slipped downwards to settle around Ryoma's waist.

"Yeah."

Ryoma met Fuji's gaze and smiled. Fuji's breath hitched slightly as he realized he enjoyed the sight.

"See you at school, right?"

Fuji nodded and smiled back, still feeling fuzzy and weak. When they finally let go of each other, Fuji felt cold. And as Ryoma walked up to his house and turned around to smile at Fuji one last time before opening the door to go inside, Fuji felt even colder. The chilly air was suddenly unbearably cold. Fuji brought his shoulder up and shuddered. He put his hands into his pockets and turned away from Ryoma's house to make his way home. It felt odd. Fuji wasn't used to feeling like this.

When a date ended, he usually had a routine that he followed. Hug the girl. Sometimes kiss the girl, if she was cute. In certain cases, although they were rare, he ended up having sex with the girl. He was emotionally cut off when he did it. A few days later, he'd tell her that he didn't feel the same way. She would cry and he could tell her that she'd find someone better. And then it would be over.

This was definitely different. One kiss was all it took for Fuji to feel like he was floating. Closing his eyes had felt natural and easy. Ryoma didn't smell like he had taken a shower in candy-scented perfume. Fuji smiled as he walked, and squinted his eyes shut as a gust of cold air ruffled his hair.

"What's wrong with me... I must be going crazy," Fuji mumbled to himself, smiling softly to the sky. "For some reason, I'm actually looking forward to school."

tbc.

* * *

R&R, okay? :) You know I love reviews. I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
